LAUSR

This article explores themes of chance and contingency in relation to field research I carried out in a network of outdoor newspaper libraries in Pune, India. Appearing amid the city’s transformation into a major regional hub linking western Maharashtra into the global economy, the vernacular institution of the footpath library emerges as a lens for bringing a range of issues related to social change in urban India into clearer focus. I show that the street library is not just a quiet place to sit and read but a site of social visibility and cultural assertion for Marathi-speaking migrants in the city.