New “little libraries” have opened as part of Penguin Books’ 90th birthday celebrations.
More than 2,000 towns and villages applied to receive a little library from the company with just 90 being successful, including Morpeth, in Northumberland, and the Teesside towns of Hartlepool and Redcar.
The publisher gives each new library 25 books to launch a free exchange service managed by a local steward.
Lyndsay Hogg, steward of the Hartlepool library on Worset Lane, said she hoped it would become a landmark for people in the area to walk to and “share the joy of reading”.