In Hamilton, Ontario, a 1954 CN passenger car converted into a library and called the Larry Paikin Literary Express, officially opened a few weeks ago.

The Rothwell Center raised $100,000 for the new library in an effort to improve literacy rates in the Keith neighborhood, where, according to CHCH, 43 percent of residents live in poverty, 37 percent never finished high school, and the dropout rate is 17 percent, which is three times higher than anywhere else in the city.

Larry Paikin, the head of a local steel company, helped get the library up and running. “Every child deserves an even chance to be educated,” said Jeff Paikin, son of Larry Paikin, according to the Hamilton Spectator. “That’s your pass to the future.”

The library, operated by volunteers, contains a collection of 1,500 titles. The interior was reconstructed to be more comfortable and fit in books; the seats were removed from the railway car and replaced with, at one end, a lounge, and at the other end, a wall lined with books, many of which were donated by Random House.

Mayor Bob Bratina was pleased to learn about the Rothwell Center and Paikin’s efforts. “This area was stigmatized as ‘Code Red,’” he said. “We thought we’d change that and make it ‘Code Reading.’”

Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Ontario’s lieutenant governor, echoed Bratina’s sentiments. "The choice of a railway car is really quite inspired because it represents the start of a journey," Dowdeswell said at the official opening. "A place that can nourish the spirit and expand their horizons."

Pictured above: the Literacy Express receiving a donation of 1,500 books from Random House. Photo by Scott Gardner.