Looking for a good read that’s also eco-friendly? Find a Green Shelf near you. A project of the Midtown Palo Alto Green Team, Green Shelves are just that – a bookshelf lined with green paper and stocked with environmentally-friendly reading material for all to borrow and read. Working together with local schools, businesses and public areas, we hope to establish a number of Green Shelves that will carry books on carbon-cutting topics for all ages, nonfiction and fiction alike.

The aim of the Green Shelf is to provide an opportunity to share materials with like-minded people throughout the city as well as to raise awareness and knowledge among the general population. We hope that Green Shelf books will also be the starting points for conversations and building connections in the community. Anyone can pick up a specially-marked book from a green-paper lined Green Shelf, read it and return it when done. You can return it to any other Green Shelf in the city.

The first Green Shelves are at Parents Nursery School (Louis Road and Garland – currently for school-families only) and Philz Coffee (Middlefield and Loma Verde). Be sure to ask about the Green Shelf when you visit these local establishments and others. More locations will be coming.

If you’d like to participate, you can donate books or literature on eco-friendly topics to the Green Shelves. Any books on environmental issues (a few multiples are okay because we can use them at multiple locations), current magazines, kids’ materials, or gardening-related materials (secular materials only) are welcome. You can also participate by suggesting books and locations.

Check out a book at a Green Shelf near you. If you have donations, a suggestion for a book, or would like to have a Green Shelf at your location, please contact the Midtown Green Team by email: midtown (at) pagreenteams (dot) org