The initiative, presented in Matute Square, is themed 'Your next book is within reach' and aims to bring literature closer to citizens. These unique benches are equipped with QR codes that allow users to geolocate nearby bookstores through the municipal platform 'Todo Está en Madrid', thus facilitating visits to local businesses.
The campaign is the result of a collaboration between the City Council, Penguin Random House, JCDecaux, and Dentsu. The 'book-benches' will remain on public display until June 14 in districts such as Centro, Retiro, Chamberí, Salamanca, Chamartín, Tetuán, Fuencarral-El Pardo, and Moncloa-Aravaca.
“"We have placed them near bookstores and libraries, so that it is an invitation for people to approach and enter and also give life to that small business, to that bookstore that I am convinced will welcome them with open arms."
During the inaugural event, which took place in the Barrio de las Letras with a bench dedicated to the writer Isabel Allende and her work La palabra mágica, authorities highlighted the fundamental cultural and economic role played by small bookstores in the city. The municipal delegation also visited the Librería Desnivel, in Matute Square itself, an establishment that has maintained uninterrupted bookselling activity since 1898.
