Trail libraries give hikers food for thought

Jerusalem’s Shalem College has a message to the Israelis who will spend their holiday vacations hiking Israel’s National Trail: Sit down and read.

Shalem, a self-proclaimed “Great Books College,” has its own press where it prints Hebrew translations of classical works of Western thought. It has donated volumes from its collection to library stations set up at select campgrounds.

The trail libraries are stocked with Shalem Press books on philosophy, literature, and poetry. Hikers may borrow and return books at any of the branches, operating solely on an honor system.

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Israel also has beach libraries and bus-stop libraries — not surprising in a country full of bookworms.

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