There are not many places that build a community among strangers. Libros Schmibros’s bicycle libraries, however, aim to do that with handfuls of books on wheels.

The organization has already built a successful lending library in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, and they now want to expand their mission to provide low or no-cost books to other communities in the Los Angeles area through bicycle libraries.

In order to successfully fund the project, Libros Schmibros invites you to vote here for a grant to support their books on wheels vision. The deadline to vote is Tuesday, September 16th.

These libraries on wheels will serve the community by providing volunteers who will cycle to farmers markets, grocery stories, and other Metro-adjacent congregation spaces with stacks of popular books to read and discuss. The low or no-cost works will include genre fiction, children’s books, counterculture staples, classics, Latin American literature and books about Los Angeles. Volunteers are happy to talk to people about the books and help generate meaningful conversations.

In their proposal for the grant, they write about one of the inspirations that informs their project: “books are a way to get people to connect. This is the basic lesson of Libros, and the essence of the project so far. Bicycle Libraries will be integral to Libros because they will promote connection around our neighborhood and across the city at large.” You can read the full proposal and watch a video on the project here. You can read about their larger mission and inspirations on their website, http://librosschmibros.org/, and follow them on Twitter @LibrosSchmibros.