CALGARY—Packed to the brim containing books written in Punjabi, Arabic, English and French, a row of three mini-library boxes are bringing together a community in Saddle ridge.

With a table full of classic novels from around the world, lawn chairs arranged around them, and an area with drinks and snacks, Syed Najam’s front lawn has been turned into a multicultural outdoor library.

“Canada has people coming from everywhere. I thought why should we just keep English books? We should keep all languages because people are coming from different countries,” he said.

Najam is with the Love With Humanity Association, the non-profit behind the idea. He said he thought of the benefits of having an outdoor library in his community when he started interacting with his neighbours.

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