Streetreads: 'Because everyone deserves the escape of a good book'
How you can help save Edinburgh's incredible library for the homeless
Simple chipboard shelving lines the walls of an unassuming room in the basement of a church in Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The shelves now lie bare, ready to be removed. They are surrounded by stacks of boxes containing a treasure trove of books and games that once filled the shelves.
A few artworks and decorations still hang forlornly on the walls. They are the last remnants of what was, until last week, a warm and welcoming space. Somewhere people with nowhere to call home could come to read, relax, make friends and access a wide variety of support.
This was the base for Streetreads library, a charity operation providing a safe place for those experiencing homelessness to spend some time, no questions asked, no names needed.
And it was far more than just a library. The venue also hosted a diverse range of classes, workshops, drop-in events and services throughout the week. There were digital support, where users could get help with the likes of email accounts and banking. But that was only the start of it.
There were arts and crafts courses, author visits, a choir, well-being therapy sessions, poetry readings, haircuts and even health checks. Aids such as reading glasses and dyslexia glasses were even provided, as well as books for a range of reading abilities and in foreign languages.
Now, though, in an ironic twist, the library has itself been made homeless. After being served with an eviction notice late last year, it is now facing an uncertain future.
‘This place has saved lives’
Ricky Kerr, service lead for Streetreads, stresses the value of the facilities for the capital's homeless, many of whom suffer from a variety of difficulties – including drug and alcohol issues, and mental health problems.
“This place has saved lives,” he says.
“We provide up to 200 supports per week out of this space through our various drop-ins and different psycho-social groups, events and workshops. This provides people access to a world of learning that they haven’t had access to.
“It is a completely non-transactional space. There are very few spaces like this that exist in Edinburgh, where someone experiencing or at risk of homelessness can just come in and exist without having to have a reason to be there.
“The doors are open. People can just come in and sit down. We don’t take names or ask them to show ID.
“It allows people to come here and just experience hope and community integration.
“It is also a platform for empowered skill development. We have more than 65 partners who come in and run a variety of different events and workshops, and it’s great because it provides people with access to a way of life that they feel excluded from.
“It can really help tackle some of the barriers and stigma these people face.”
Books are not lent, but gifted
With around 100 people sleeping rough in the capital city every night and the ongoing housing crisis, the facility has been providing crucial support and helped many users to turn their lives around.
The project has been widely commended for its work, with local businesses and a number of well-known figures lending their backing.
Crime writer Ian Rankin is enthusiastic about its work. Deacon Blue frontman Ricky Ross and former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon are also supporters.
“I’ve been a long-time fan of Streetreads and have seen first-hand the great work they do,” Rankin has said.
“Books can transport us anywhere, to times and worlds that excite and stimulate.
“That’s hugely important, no matter who you are or what your circumstances.”
Operated by the homeless charity Simon Community Scotland, Streetreads has been based at the Methodist church in Nicholson Square for the fast four years. It serves between 150 and 200 people every week. It also operates an outreach service, taking reading material out into the homeless community.
Books are not lent but rather gifted – and they are all brand new, donated by several local bookshops or purchased through a small budget set aside for the purpose.
A frantic search for new premises is currently under way, with a couple of suitable options already identified. Unfortunately, though, the move is not straightforward. The price tag for a new base is far outwith the charity’s current means.
Securing the future
Running costs for Streetreads have been around £75,000 a year, paid for entirely through donations and fundraising. However, higher rent at the favoured new site would see the bill jump by £20,000 to £30,000 annually.
So an emergency crowdfunding appeal has been launched, with an initial target of £25,000 to cover the first 12 months in a new property. Almost £5,000 has already been pledged but more is urgently needed.
Kerr is concerned for the people who regularly visit the library.
“It’s these people who are here six days a week, who don’t have anywhere else to go and who don’t have anybody else to vent to, that I am extremely worried about,” he said.
“Lots of readers come back every week, and I’m devastated for them. That’s what hurts the most.
“There are not many options for non-transactional spaces for this community in Edinburgh.”
According to the homeless monitor report for Scotland, 18,400 households experienced core homelessness – including sleeping rough, staying in places such as cars, tents, boats and sheds, living in hostels, refuges and shelters or unsuitable temporary accommodation like bed and breakfast hotels – on a typical day in 2022. This shows an increase of 11% from 2020.
But it’s not just homeless people themselves who are benefiting from the Streetreads library and outreach work by its Streetwork team. Positive impacts have also been felt throughout the local community, with a marked drop in trouble on the streets.
Kerr highlights some of the issues facing those who have nowhere of their own to live.
“A lot of the people we support have absolutely no social spaces available to them,” he says.
“They have no communal room at the accommodations they are staying in. Many places have 10pm curfews and most don’t allow anyone else in the rooms.
“When people have no spaces for socialising, that can lead to them congregating in areas out in the community, and in those group situations possibly engaging in harmful behaviour - harmful to themselves, to each other and potentially to other members of the public.”
Having somewhere to go has had a dramatic effect on lowering the number of incidents reported to police in the city centre.
David Duthie, Edinburgh City Centre Community Inspector for Police Scotland, is another staunch supporter of the library and its work.
“Streetreads has undoubtedly made a hugely positive impact on reducing anti-social behaviour in the Old Town of Edinburgh, but more importantly on the lives of vulnerable persons in the community,” he says.
“By taking a holistic and pragmatic approach to the support given to people, the team at Streetwork have empowered vulnerable persons by improving their mental and physical well-being by supporting them individually.
“This fast-evolving approach taken by Streetwork could not have been achieved without the passion and dedication shown by the Streetreads team.”
The charity is hoping to get a solution in place within the next few weeks, before the end of winter.
“It’s a lifeline service,” Kerr says, “and these are some of the most challenging months of the year.
“It is one of the worst times that this support could be withdrawn from this vulnerable community. Ideally, we would like to move into a place as soon as possible.
“We’re hoping to get somewhere by the end of February or beginning of March, but that’s all dependent on receiving additional funding.”
The ultimate aim is to secure sufficient funding to guarantee a long-term future – enough to pay for five years of rental fees.
Dan, a user of the library, describes Streetreads as “a humble but brilliant project”.
“It has helped me a lot,” he says, “to meet new people – that boosted my confidence.
“Through books I have improved my knowledge of myself and my skills.
“Books helped me to focus on something positive during dark moments, inspiring me and giving me new ideas and a different vision of life.”
The Book Wumman
Streetreads was the brainchild of Rachel Cowan, known locally as the Book Wumman, inspired by a homeless woman she met who asked for a book rather than food when offered help. The service began life with a few books being wheeled round town on a cart and dished out to people living on the streets.
In 2018, the partnership with Simon Community Scotland began and a pop-library was housed at various temporary sites. The premises in Nicholson Square became a more permanent home in 2021, and the project has been expanding and developing ever since – increasing operations from one day a week to six.
Daisy Stafford, a Streetreads volunteer, has been involved since the early days.
“When I first volunteered with Streetreads and met its founder, Rachel Cowan, it was just a few shelves of books at the back of a closed restaurant in Ocean Terminal,” she says.
“Rachel had been inspired to start the project by a homeless reader she had befriended. I was inspired in turn by Rachel’s passionate belief that everyone deserves the escape of a good book.
“In our humble ‘book cave’, we packed crates of donated books to give away at support venues.
“Insecurity was a large part of the early days of Streetreads, and we moved venues three times in my first few years, from Ocean Terminal to a storage unit, to the basement of Lighthouse bookshop.
“A community library where readers could gather, browse the shelves for themselves and connect over books was always the dream, and we couldn’t believe it when it became a reality in 2021.
“It’s gutting to see that end, and to lose this space that means so much to so many.
“I’ve witnessed the energy, commitment and passion that has been poured into this project over the past eight years, first by Rachel and then by the host of volunteers, supporters, Streetwork staff and the readers themselves, to keep it going.
“Streetreads offers so much more than just books – it provides joy, connection and a space to just ‘be’ for a community that sorely needs it.”
In the meantime, a skeleton Streetreads service is being run out of the nearby Greyfriars Charteris Centre and outreach team will also keep up their work on the streets. Simon Community Scotland also runs a homelessness support hub continues at Holyrood Road, providing help with food, accommodation and other needs.
The support they offer is needed as much as it ever has been.
For more information visit https://www.simonscotland.org/2025/01/16/streetreads-library-urgently-seeks-a-new-home/. Donations can be made at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/streetreadslibrary, with £10 enough to buy a book, while £285 would cover the daily cost of running the library and £2,000 would help fund and develop the support programme for a week.
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Brilliant article Ilona