Airport Libraries Take Off

The layover was supposed to last two hours. Instead, it stretched into four or five.

Traveling alone through ­Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky ­International Airport (CVG), a woman wandered the concourse looking to pass the time. Then she spotted a sign for the Airport Library. When she arrived, she sat down, plugged in her devices, and picked up a historical biography she said she never would have chosen under normal circumstances. Before she knew it, boarding was announced.

Later, she hand-wrote a note thanking Kenton County (Ky.) Public Library (KCPL) and airport staffers who made the experience possible, saying her unexpected delay passed quickly—and pleasantly—because of that quiet corner and that book.

“We thought, there are so many people coming through this airport who probably forgot a book, or have been delayed, or are just kind of stuck waiting for a layover,” says KCPL Executive Director Dave Schroeder. “How can we meet that need in a cost-effective way?”

In recent years, public libraries across the country have begun partnering with airports to bring books, digital materials, and dedicated reading spaces into terminals, offering travelers a free alternative to a shop or restaurant and a rare moment of calm amid the bustle of travel.

Schroeder describes the space at CVG, which opened in 2023, as a “Little Free Library on steroids.” The Airport Library occupies a warm, inviting space, formerly a women’s apparel store, with oversized chairs, high-top tables, chargers, and a children’s area with kid-sized furniture.

The idea began when library leadership approached the airport, wanting to provide e-materials for travelers. But airport officials advocated for physical books, since digital ones would require a KCPL library card, which not all travelers would have. Plus, “many people just like the convenience of having a physical book on vacation,” Schroeder says. “You can take it to the beach, and if you lose it, no big deal.”

The airport renovated the space and added furniture, while KCPL supplied the collection. The library occupies the space rent-free.

There’s no kiosk, monitoring, or checkout system. Signs invite travelers to “take one, leave one,” but returns are not required. About one-fourth of the books eventually return to a library branch, Schroeder says.

Library staffers who stock the shelves are careful not to undercut airport bookstores, avoiding brand-new bestsellers and relying instead on donated and withdrawn titles. Boxes around the airport allow travelers to donate books back into circulation. Demand has been so high that a few nearby systems—Boone County (Ky.) Public Library, Campbell County (Ky.) Public Library, and Cincinnati and Hamilton County (Ohio) Public Library, along with KCPL—now rotate restocking duties, delivering about 800 books in a recent month.

A digital-first approach

In 2023, Houston Public Library (HPL) launched a BOOKlink kiosk outside airport security at William P. Hobby Airport. It’s a machine roughly the size of a wall of Amazon lockers, with a clear door revealing five shelves stocked with about 125 paperbacks.

HPL cardholders can scan their card and enter a PIN to check out books. The kiosk, monitored remotely by the library’s IT team and equipped with an internal RFID reader, circulates about 30–50 books per month, and items can be returned there or at any HPL branch.

Having that library keeps kids occupied, keeps things calmer, and honestly makes the flight experience better for everyone.—Dave Schroeder, executive director at Kenton County (Ky.) Public Library

Patrick Atkins, HPL assistant director, sees the airport presence as both a service and a form of outreach. He notes the sheer volume of passengers that pass through Hobby: more than 63 million travelers in 2024, according to the Houston Airport System, which manages the city’s airports.

“Just having the presence is a marketing tool to remind people that we’re here,” Atkins says.
Restocking happens quarterly, and the collection largely sustains itself thanks to a steady flow of travelers who tend to return books frequently. Data from the kiosk helps HPL adjust the mix based on what’s trending. About 40% of checkouts are children’s books, followed by adult fiction, YA, biographies, and Spanish-language picture books.

Parents, KCPL’s Schroeder says, often do not think to pack books amid the excitement of flying.
“When they get there, there’s all that downtime,” he says. “Having that library keeps kids occupied, keeps things calmer, and honestly makes the flight experience better for everyone.”

The honor system

Chattanooga (Tenn.) Metropolitan Airport offers something more low-tech by comparison. Skylib, operated by the Chattanooga Public Library Foundation (CPLF), has been serving travelers since 2016 from a former TSA office roughly the size of a hotel room.

Shelves are stocked with donated books, including fiction, nonfiction, and children’s titles, and travelers browse freely before security. Instead of checkout desks or scanners, Skylib operates on an honor system: suggested donations of $3 for hardcovers, $2 for paperbacks, and $1 for smaller books, collected via QR code. Books are not tracked, and patrons can donate as much or as little as they like.

“It benefits the community,” says Sharon Leath, CPLF board chair. “It helps people bond and form a love of reading.”

As with the other airport libraries, there’s no staff onsite. Volunteers—including members of the CPLF board and community—manage the collection, replacing titles and curating displays. Adult fiction and bestsellers move fastest, and vintage-looking books, with leather-bound or antique-style covers, are popular. Airport employees are frequent visitors as well. CPLF pays modest rent for the space, and all proceeds support library programs. Leath did not disclose how much revenue Skylib has generated but said the model has been profitable.

She also says that she’s received calls from people eager to replicate this “respite for weary travelers” in their own communities. She attributes Skylib’s success to the coordination between library administrators and airport leaders.

Across these airports, the goal is less about moving books and more about changing how people experience a place built for waiting. Says Leath: “It’s just a benefit for everybody.”