A PAIR of Neilston bookworms have launched a ‘street library’ to help fellow villagers discover the joy of reading.

Lindy Montgomery and Laura Curtis hope the initiative, which is based outside The Red Hut, in Kingston Road, will help local residents beat lockdown boredom.

And a number of families have already shown their support by borrowing and donating books.

Lindy, 36, told the Barrhead News: “People had been sending me posts on social media of an idea in America called a Blind Book Club, which involves a ‘blind date’ with a book, and I thought it would be great to do something similar here.

“I have all these books sitting in my house after a big clear-out during lockdown, so I messaged Laura, who helps me run the book club, to ask what she thought of the street library idea.

“We decided to place the library outside The Red Hut because the pathway there is wide enough for people to stop to have a look and it also has a wee picnic bench.

“Also, there are shutters there so, if it’s raining, the books won’t get wet.”

The pair put their own spin on the project by wrapping the books in paper and adding some information on what each book is about.

Lindy is pleased to be able to do something positive for the local community at a time when the coronavirus pandemic means libraries are closed.

She added: “One of the main reasons we wanted to set this up was to help those who are missing the libraries being open.

“By wrapping the books, it’s almost like they are getting a gift and they don’t know what genre they are going to get.”

Lindy and Laura have also been delivering books to elderly residents and those who have been shielding in the area.

A similar initiative was set up elsewhere in East Renfrewshire last year by Freya Young, who started the Eaglesham Street Library with the help of donations from local residents.

It offers on-street borrowing from outside the Montgomerie Hall every Saturday, from 10am until 8pm.