One Possible Library is a small private library with a focus on design, art, pedagogy, politics and activism. It is ephemeral and temporary. Its existence varies depending on the founder's place of residence and the selection of books she owns in a given location, at a given time. The library is inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s first lending library and is born from the belief that books and knowledge should be shared and made available to others.
Accessibility is key. Independent books and publications can be hard to come by outside of big cities such as London, Berlin or Paris, often sold at prices that are prohibitive for most people.

One Possible Library offers two options for accessing books:
*One Possible Library charges a deposit fee of 50€ for checked-out books. In case the book market price is above that value, a different amount might be charged for the deposit. The deposit will be refunded upon delivery of the book. In the case the book shows damage upon return, a fair amount will be deducted from the deposit. Otherwise, the full deposit will be refunded. Out-of-print or sold-out books are only available for in-house consultation.
One Possible Library
Rua do Mato Grosso 11A
Lisboa, Portugal
Open by appointment:
MON–FRI 11–4 pm (subject to my availability).
Books can be consulted in the library or checked out.
Get in touch for an appointment or book request by email.
One Possible Library is a project by Eva Gonçalves.
Web design: Eva Gonçalves & Anaïs Macqueron
Web development: Anaïs Macqueron & Raquel Gomes
Illustration: Amanda Baeza

THE POLITICS OF DESIGN
Ruben Pater, Bis Publishers, 2016
THE POLITICS OF DESIGN explores the cultural and political context of the typography, colours, photography, symbols, and information graphics that we use every day. Designers, communication specialists, and image-makers possess the power to shape visual communication, and with that power comes great responsibility. read more
Reserve
SCHOOL: A RECENT HISTORY OF SELF-ORGANIZED ART EDUCATION
Sam Thorne, Sternberg Press, 2017
Sam Thorne’s SCHOOL: A RECENT HISTORY OF SELF-ORGANIZED ART EDUCATION is a chronicle of self-organized art schools and artist-run education platforms that have emerged since 2000. Comprising a series of twenty conversations conducted by Thorne with the artists, curators, and educators behind these schools, the book maps a territory at once fertile and contested. read more
Reserve
TRAINING FOR EXPLOITATION?: POLITICISING EMPLOYABILITY & RECLAIMING EDUCATION
Precarious Workers Brigade, Journal of Aesthetics & Protest Press, 2017
TRAINING FOR EXPLOITATION provides a pedagogical framework that assists students and others in deconstructing dominant narratives around work, employability and careers, and explores alternative ways of engaging with work and the economy. Training for Exploitation? includes tools for critically examining the relationship between education, work and the cultural economy. read more
Reserve
TEACHING FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE TO TEACH
Mirjam Bayerdoerfer, Rosalie Schweiker, Aldgate Press, 2017
In the editor's words, TEACHING FOR PEOPLE WHO PREFER NOT TO TEACH is “a messy collection of ideas: contributions our friends and colleagues sent us, our own learning experiences and rumours we heard. You might ask yourself who this manual is for. Is it for teachers? Is it for students? Is it only relevant for teaching art? read more
Reserve
EXTRA-CURRICULAR
Various, Jacob Lindgren, 2018
EXTRA-CURRICULAR is a reader of texts on and around the topic of self-organized learning, curriculum, experiments, and alternatives in graphic design education. Occurring both within and separate from existing institutions, these other forms of learning and organization question how such learning takes place, for whom, and the ideologies inherent in existing models, among many other things. read more
Reserve
DESIGN AS LEARNING: A SCHOOL OF SCHOOLS READER
Jan Boelen, Nadine Botha, Vera Sacchetti, Valiz, 2018
Why do design? What is design for? These are forward-looking questions for a creative discipline that seems more slippery to define than ever. In a world of dwindling natural resources, exhausted social and political systems, and an overload of information there are many urgent reasons to reimagine the design discipline, and there is a growing need to look at design education. read more
Reserve
A *NEW* PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN
David Reinfurt, Adam Michaels, 2019
A *NEW* PROGRAM FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN is a do-it-yourself textbook that synthesizes the pragmatic with the experimental and builds on mid-to late-20th-century pedagogical models to convey advanced principles of contemporary design for a general reader. read more
Reserve
DESIGN BY ACCIDENT
Alexandra Midal, Sternberg Press, 2019
In DESIGN BY ACCIDENT, Alexandra Midal declares the autonomy of design—in and on its own terms. This meticulously researched work proposes not only a counterhistory but a new historiography of design, shedding light on overlooked historical landmarks and figures while reevaluating the legacies of design’s established luminaries from the nineteenth century to the present. read more
Reserve
(HOW) DO WE (WANT TO) WORK (TOGETHER) (AS (SOCIALLY ENGAGED) DESIGNERS (STUDENTS AND NEIGHBORS)) (IN NEOLIBERAL TIMES)?
Jesko Fezer & Studio Experimentelles Design, Claudia Banz, Sternberg Press, 2021
A critical discussion about work is urgently needed—in the field of design as much as anywhere else. Since 2011, Studio Experimentelles Design at the HFBK Hamburg has experimented with local design-assistance projects carried out within the framework of the St. Pauli Public Design Support initiative. read more
Reserve
CAPS LOCK
Ruben Pater, Valiz, 2021
Capitalism could not exist without the coins, banknotes, documents, information graphics, interfaces, branding, and advertisements made by graphic designers. Even anti-consumerist strategies such as social design and speculative design are appropriated to serve economic growth. read more
ReserveOne Possible Library is a self-initiated, self-supported and 100% independent project. It aims to be a tool for design and art students, activists and academics who often struggle to find current publications in the public or university libraries of countries outside of the main cultural hubs, or for people who can’t afford the high prices that independent publications frequently carry.
One Possible Library is always expanding. Our goal is to provide our community with current books and ideas. And to circulate knowledge as much as possible. If you’d like to support this project, you are welcome to make a donation. Donations go exclusively towards acquiring new books for the library.
Upcoming books:
Baseline Shift, Untold Stories of Women in Graphic Design, Briar Levit, Princeton Architectural Press
Design as Democratic Enquiry, Carlo Disalvo, MIT Press
One and Many Mirrors: On Graphic Design Education Today Radical Pedagogies, Luke Wood & Brad Haylock, Ocassional Papers