At quick glance, it would appear the Seattle Public Library installed pay phones at the downtown Central Library location.
But these landlines are not a relic of the pre-smartphone era. They are courtesy phones to help anyone who needs to make a call.
"As mobile phones have become more and more popular, pay phones have become more and more scarce and more difficult to get serviced, so we just replaced our pay phones with these courtesy phones," said Karen Spiel, Central Library manager.
The library branch installed the phones back in August and are intended for everybody, but Spiel recognizes there's especially a need among vulnerable populations, like the city's homeless.
"They may need to call about a job interview, they may need to make a call to their kid's school, they may need to call to get a bed in a shelter," said Speil.
"We were getting people at the end of the evening, asking us if we had a phone, asking us to make those vital phone calls so we're really glad to have these."
The phones are available on the first floor and can be used during the branch's regular business hours. The phones can only make local calls and the caller can stay on the line for ten minutes to give the next person in line a turn.
The library offers other resources for vulnerable populations. For a link to their offerings, click here.
