The tomes had been on display in a greenhouse outside the Solaris mall in central Tallinn since the beginning of summer.

On the issue of what you can do with the physical paper books you no longer need is to return them into circulation via initiatives like this.

Maaja Hallik, owner of bookstore Read, for instance, said the store receives thousands of used books each month.

Those books Read receives can be put on the shelves, or some go towards an art installation inside the store; others may end up being recycled, Hallik said.

Margo Matsina, the founder of Raamatukoi bookstore in the Old Town, said the same.

The store receives many old books, especially from the Soviet era, often in such large volumes that keeping up with shelving them can prove challenging.

The numbers of books offered range from just one or two, through to the thousands, Matsina said – many people have to show photos or lists of their books rather than bring them in, such are the numbers.

Matsina is confident that every book, no matter how arcane, that makes it to the shelves will eventually find a reader.

Kalju Tammaru of the National Library agreed, and, told "Aktuaalne kaamera" that every book has its reader, and vice versa.

The National Library's storage library itself also accepts, exchanges, and preserves books, taking in around 380,000 donated items last year alone.

"We try to find new homes for them. Our primary partners are various libraries, and we distribute around 170,000 books each year," Tammaru said.

The books can even end up at community and travel libraries located in ports and bus stations.

For instance passenger rail operator Elron has installed travel bookshelf at its major rail stations.

Elron spokesperson Leili Andrijainen said: "We have people taking books every day. But we also have customers who bring their books here. If they have spares, they bring them so others can read them too."

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