At dozens of barbershops and laundromats across the United States, the sound of children reading aloud mingles with the buzz and snip from barbers’ tools or the din of washers. Makeshift shelves and crates hold books featuring cartoon characters, stories about pigeons or the capers of superheroes.

This developing movement, supported by nonprofit groups, entrepreneurs, libraries and community fund-raising, is redefining the borders of traditional neighborhood public libraries by creating literary spaces in places where children find themselves with time on their hands.

It is bringing the book to the child, instead of the child to the book.

Most of these patchwork libraries have found root in laundromats and salons that already served as drop-in meeting spots in economically struggling neighborhoods. Some children are encouraged to read out loud while getting their hair cut, or they are given incentives like snacks or a few dollars to read.

At Cutz Lounge the Grooming Shop in Detroit, the owner, Dante Williams, 41, has sectioned off a corner of his 4,000-square-foot business with couches, where adults stop by and gossip or share news. A rack of books is strategically placed at eye level for children, featuring “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late” by Mo Willems, “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” by Judi and Ron Barrett, and volumes from the “Captain Underpants” series.