A new library that opened in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, in April is not an ivory tower of books, but an innovative attempt to boost liquor sales and interest in libraries themselves.

Sake.come Maehara Library was built in a liquor store. The microlibrary consists of one bookcase stocked with 500 or so works of literature amidst shelves stocked with expensive brands of alcohol.

The presence of the library has apparently lubricated the wheels of the alcohol business.