"Crime, homelessness and crumbling infrastructure are still a problem in almost every part of America, but two cities have recently cracked down on one of the country's biggest problems: small-community libraries where residents can share books," Michael Schaub wrote. Times followed up last week with a trend story that got things just about right. Scattered stories like these have appeared in various local news outlets. They dubbed it an "illegal detached structure" and told the Collins' they would face a fine if they did not remove the Little Free Library from their yard by June 19. ![]() The Leawood City Council said it had received a couple of complaints about Spencer Collins' Little Free Library. Last summer in Kansas, a 9-year-old was loving his Little Free Library until at least two residents proved that some people will complain about anything no matter how harmless and city officials pushed the boundaries of literal-mindedness: ![]() And so they have power, despite their small-mindedness, inflexibility, and lack of common sense so extreme that they've taken to cracking down on Little Free Libraries, of all things. Due to selection bias, they are overrepresented among local politicians and bureaucrats. Alas, a subset of Americans are determined to regulate every last aspect of community life. I wish that I was writing merely to extol this trend. In Venice, where I live, I know of at least three Little Free Libraries, and have witnessed chance encounters where folks in the neighborhood chat about a book. Since 2009, when a Wisconsin man built a little, free library to honor his late mother, who loved books, copycats inspired by his example have put thousands of Little Free Libraries all over the U.S. The man knew he was onto something "when a 9-year-old boy knocked on his door one morning to say how much he liked the little library." He went on to explain, "I met more neighbors in the first three weeks than in the previous 30 years." We've constructed communities where one must obtain permission from the state before freely sharing books with one's neighbors! ![]() A 76-year-old in Sherman Oaks, California, felt that his little library, roughly the size of a dollhouse, "turned strangers into friends and a sometimes-impersonal neighborhood into a community," the reporter observed. Neighbors browse, take one, and return later with a replacement. The idea is simple: A book lover puts a box or shelf or crate of books in their front yard. To learn more about Little Free Libraries, visit littlefreelibrary.Three years ago, The Los Angeles Times published a feel-good story on the Little Free Library movement. Read more about this project in the Barriere Star Journal. ![]() Pam will be regularly stocking the Little Free Library so there will always be an assortment of great reads, free for the community! “I am thankful for the collaboration and contributions enabling this project to become a reality, and am confident it will be well used in the community,” she said. A huge thanks to you all, who made this possible!īarriere Library’s Branch Head, Pam Rudd, said it was a fun and meaningful project to work on. It was built by Barriere Secondary School’s Technology Educator Liam Fielding, and installed by District of Barriere park staff. We are so excited to announce that our Little Free Library in Barriere is up and running!Ī true community collaboration, the Little Free Library came to life thanks to the financial support from one of our loyal patrons, Jay Deyman, who has supported the Barriere Library in the past with other projects such as the Barriere StoryWalk®.
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