The Danger of Being Neighborly Without a Permit
August 24, 2015 7:16 PM Subscribe
Yeah, they're super popular where I live, and I have never heard anyone say a bad word about them. It sort of boggles my mind that anyone could have an issue with them.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:25 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:25 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
from the article:
We've constructed communities where one must obtain permission from the state before freely sharing books with one's neighbors!
Somebody has deeply misunderstood the meaning of the word "community".
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:26 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
We've constructed communities where one must obtain permission from the state before freely sharing books with one's neighbors!
Somebody has deeply misunderstood the meaning of the word "community".
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:26 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
I get the feeling from the article, since they cite two examples largely (LA and Shreveport), that it's a city council playing cover-our-ass alongside some busybody neighbors with grudges. The busybodies, for whatever reason, report the libraries, and the council doesn't want to set a precedent for letting stuff get past code.
It seems like a bureaucracy being a bureaucracy, but not specifically because these are twee little libraries.
It's also a trend piece extrapolating from two examples - so I'm not particularly compelled to panic.
posted by codacorolla at 7:28 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
It seems like a bureaucracy being a bureaucracy, but not specifically because these are twee little libraries.
It's also a trend piece extrapolating from two examples - so I'm not particularly compelled to panic.
posted by codacorolla at 7:28 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
Wait, excuse me, THREE examples. Still not ringing the old alarm bell.
posted by codacorolla at 7:30 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by codacorolla at 7:30 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I agree that on the face of it, regulating book swaps is kind of silly, and always ripe for a good old-fashioned bureaucratic over-reaction.
On the other hand, like a lot of things that become super popular, the later participants aren't always aware of the issues that can arise.
Just in my small city, we've had free libraries built:
- In the city right-of-way (fine, until it gets removed for roadwork 3 years from now)
- On the sidewalk, forcing people into the street to walk around it.
- On property not belonging to the person who built it.
- One very popular one was ideally sited, until people started parking on the neighbour's verge to access it.
Also, people tend to start using them as "book dumps" rather than exchanges, so you'll start to see heaps of old encyclopedias and whatever else someone found in their garage being piled up around the base.
I imagine in a big city, you can multiply these occurrences by a thousand.
Now, my town is doing the right thing, in updating the code to create guidelines for building and siting book swaps, and I think eventually things like this will be absorbed into most municipal codes.
posted by madajb at 7:34 PM on August 24, 2015 [46 favorites]
On the other hand, like a lot of things that become super popular, the later participants aren't always aware of the issues that can arise.
Just in my small city, we've had free libraries built:
- In the city right-of-way (fine, until it gets removed for roadwork 3 years from now)
- On the sidewalk, forcing people into the street to walk around it.
- On property not belonging to the person who built it.
- One very popular one was ideally sited, until people started parking on the neighbour's verge to access it.
Also, people tend to start using them as "book dumps" rather than exchanges, so you'll start to see heaps of old encyclopedias and whatever else someone found in their garage being piled up around the base.
I imagine in a big city, you can multiply these occurrences by a thousand.
Now, my town is doing the right thing, in updating the code to create guidelines for building and siting book swaps, and I think eventually things like this will be absorbed into most municipal codes.
posted by madajb at 7:34 PM on August 24, 2015 [46 favorites]
Now, my town is doing the right thing, in updating the code to create guidelines for building and siting book swaps, and I think eventually things like this will be absorbed into most municipal codes.
Actually, clicking through some of the articles in the ATL piece, this is indeed what many municipalities are doing:
For example, "The Leawood City Council is expected to discuss the Little Free Library issue at its meeting on July 7."
And in Shreveport, "The Edgertons might get a reprieve, however: a Shreveport city councilman told the newspaper that 'a resolution is being drafted to waive existing Little Free Libraries' from zoning laws."
I like libraries a great deal, but isn't that what local government should do? Enforce rules decided upon democratically, and then revise those rules when enough people express dissatisfaction? To be honest, this whole thing seems like libertarian clickbait to get people's hackles up about government practices.
posted by codacorolla at 7:40 PM on August 24, 2015 [24 favorites]
Actually, clicking through some of the articles in the ATL piece, this is indeed what many municipalities are doing:
For example, "The Leawood City Council is expected to discuss the Little Free Library issue at its meeting on July 7."
And in Shreveport, "The Edgertons might get a reprieve, however: a Shreveport city councilman told the newspaper that 'a resolution is being drafted to waive existing Little Free Libraries' from zoning laws."
I like libraries a great deal, but isn't that what local government should do? Enforce rules decided upon democratically, and then revise those rules when enough people express dissatisfaction? To be honest, this whole thing seems like libertarian clickbait to get people's hackles up about government practices.
posted by codacorolla at 7:40 PM on August 24, 2015 [24 favorites]
I've got one, and the real threat has been the occasional neighborhood miscreant who once stole all the books, and another time managed to steal the entire damn thing. God I hate that guy, whoever he is. Hasn't stopped me, though. It's great for the neighborhood and I love doing it. (Oh, I also hate the person who left some gently used clothes in there. This is a library, not a thrift store!)
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:42 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:42 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Meanwhile, in London, David Byrne is lending out the books in his personal library, but only until August 30th.
After that, it's the same as it ever was.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:44 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
After that, it's the same as it ever was.
posted by oneswellfoop at 7:44 PM on August 24, 2015 [10 favorites]
So... what's the difference between a free library and a sidewalk facing birdhouse... ?
The signage?
posted by jefflowrey at 7:47 PM on August 24, 2015
The signage?
posted by jefflowrey at 7:47 PM on August 24, 2015
Here in greater Boston, these little libraries mean that books are no longer treated like other belongings given during Allston Christmas: there's a way to keep them out of the rain.
(Allston is the rattiest of the student neighborhoods, and this time of year, things deemed not worth taking along for a move are simply left on the sidewalks for others to snap up. Hence Allston Christmas.)
posted by ocschwar at 7:49 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
(Allston is the rattiest of the student neighborhoods, and this time of year, things deemed not worth taking along for a move are simply left on the sidewalks for others to snap up. Hence Allston Christmas.)
posted by ocschwar at 7:49 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
I like libraries a great deal, but isn't that what local government should do? Enforce rules decided upon democratically, and then revise those rules when enough people express dissatisfaction? To be honest, this whole thing seems like libertarian clickbait to get people's hackles up about government practices.
I dunno, I took from the headline that the people we should be getting pissed at are the neighborhood busybodies. The people who complained to the municipalities. Probably by and large the same people who are really active in the local HOAs.
In a better world, those people would already be on fire.
posted by kafziel at 7:50 PM on August 24, 2015 [14 favorites]
I dunno, I took from the headline that the people we should be getting pissed at are the neighborhood busybodies. The people who complained to the municipalities. Probably by and large the same people who are really active in the local HOAs.
In a better world, those people would already be on fire.
posted by kafziel at 7:50 PM on August 24, 2015 [14 favorites]
Haha, I have SERIOUS COMPLAINTS about some of my neighbors' "illegal detached structures," principally because they have ALREADY SET THEM ON FIRE ONCE, at a cost of $40k to their own house and $28k to the neighboring house when they sent up a MASSIVE HOUSE FIRE that came one house from catching mine, but I do not call to complain about them unless they are actively on fire and/or making noise at 2 a.m. because I am not a complete douchebag, although I am 100% judging them for their illegal detached structures.
I have a bunch of books I was going to sell on half.com but now I'm going to go put them in the nearest Little Free Library. Because NON DOUCHEBAGGERY.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:50 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
I have a bunch of books I was going to sell on half.com but now I'm going to go put them in the nearest Little Free Library. Because NON DOUCHEBAGGERY.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:50 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
This seems to be about street neighbors complaining to their city about stuff built on the sidewalk and threatening their imagined property values, and even their free market values. To invoke neighbors and freedom as the victims, as the article does, is misleading. The power of one neighbor and one phone call that makes the entire city bend is a testament to something other than bureaucratic corruption.
posted by Brian B. at 7:53 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Brian B. at 7:53 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
There are over 30,000 LFLs registered in the U.S., and this guy found what, three or four examples of people complaining? Between this and their cover story on the "coddling of the academic mind" ... has the Atlantic always been this libertarian?
posted by one_bean at 7:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by one_bean at 7:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [7 favorites]
I have a neighbor who calls the city on us frequently, especially when I do any diy work in case I don't have a permit. (Sadly for him, I know how to pull a permit.) In my old neighborhood, it was an older lady who called the city on everyone -- my impression is that every neighborhood has one of these people, and somehow they can call in all the diy projects without noticing the obvious drug houses. But also in my experience, some cities are much more responsive to these calls, and others don't pay much attention.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:00 PM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 8:00 PM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
A kind of funny retort would be to start filling the potholes in the street with used books.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:04 PM on August 24, 2015 [14 favorites]
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 8:04 PM on August 24, 2015 [14 favorites]
I mean, in the suburbs of Austin there are private communities where people pay sizable fees to a HOA in order to pay for PRIVATE parks and cookie cutter landscaping. I bet they would HATE a Little Free Library.
These people also probably complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
posted by lownote at 8:05 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
These people also probably complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
posted by lownote at 8:05 PM on August 24, 2015 [3 favorites]
The commuter station in my old town has this concept on a metal carousel. I've come across the odd decent read.
You can buy pre-made structures (and track established ones) here. If you have a million dollars (and one cent), you can have Matt Groening's.
posted by BWA at 8:16 PM on August 24, 2015
You can buy pre-made structures (and track established ones) here. If you have a million dollars (and one cent), you can have Matt Groening's.
posted by BWA at 8:16 PM on August 24, 2015
Lownote - There are those kind of private "communities" in the suburbs of all of the larger cities in the U.S.
And, yes, they do all complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
posted by jefflowrey at 8:35 PM on August 24, 2015
And, yes, they do all complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
posted by jefflowrey at 8:35 PM on August 24, 2015
So... what's the difference between a free library and a sidewalk facing birdhouse...?
The signage?
The plumage.
posted by Songdog at 8:41 PM on August 24, 2015 [9 favorites]
The signage?
The plumage.
posted by Songdog at 8:41 PM on August 24, 2015 [9 favorites]
I mean, in the suburbs of Austin there are private communities where people pay sizable fees to a HOA in order to pay for PRIVATE parks and cookie cutter landscaping. I bet they would HATE a Little Free Library.
These people also probably complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
They also tend to have it written into your deed that if you buy a house in that neighborhood, you are agreeing to join the HOA and abide by their rules. And they'll repossess your house and sell it and keep the money if you're late on your dues. In many parts of the country, it is flat-out impossible to buy a house without signing on to one, as they tend to have restrictive covenants forcing any seller to make the buyer sign up as part of the sale.
HOAs first came about to keep people in white neighborhoods from selling their houses to black people. They've gotten no less unsavory in the time since, and every last one of them needs to be burned the fuck down.
posted by kafziel at 8:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [29 favorites]
These people also probably complain that their taxes are too high and kick puppies.
They also tend to have it written into your deed that if you buy a house in that neighborhood, you are agreeing to join the HOA and abide by their rules. And they'll repossess your house and sell it and keep the money if you're late on your dues. In many parts of the country, it is flat-out impossible to buy a house without signing on to one, as they tend to have restrictive covenants forcing any seller to make the buyer sign up as part of the sale.
HOAs first came about to keep people in white neighborhoods from selling their houses to black people. They've gotten no less unsavory in the time since, and every last one of them needs to be burned the fuck down.
posted by kafziel at 8:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [29 favorites]
(Oh, I also hate the person who left some gently used clothes in there. This is a library, not a thrift store!)
Our neighborhood is stiff with these little libraries, but the books tend to be meh: airport bestsellers and sports memoirs and money advice ephemera.
But the one half a block from me is an exception, with a great and continually varied collection; probably because geography and access to certain small businesses tends to encourage walkers on this street over other nearby ones.
Anyway it often includes small toys for kids, pens, little tools and keyrings, you name it. We put a fish scaler in that vanished within a day.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
Our neighborhood is stiff with these little libraries, but the books tend to be meh: airport bestsellers and sports memoirs and money advice ephemera.
But the one half a block from me is an exception, with a great and continually varied collection; probably because geography and access to certain small businesses tends to encourage walkers on this street over other nearby ones.
Anyway it often includes small toys for kids, pens, little tools and keyrings, you name it. We put a fish scaler in that vanished within a day.
posted by George_Spiggott at 8:56 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
You can buy pre-made structures (and track established ones) here.
$349.95 for $20 worth of lumber and parts? I am in the wrong business.
posted by xedrik at 9:08 PM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
$349.95 for $20 worth of lumber and parts? I am in the wrong business.
posted by xedrik at 9:08 PM on August 24, 2015 [2 favorites]
I built one for my son... Last year it was looking ratty so I took the door off and taped some newspaper up in preparation for repainting it. In the 15 minutes it took me to prep it, I had 3 different neighbors run up to me - when they saw me with tools they thought I was taking it down and had come to ask me not to do it!
(It's been a mostly good experience, with the exception of one dickbag who left a half-empty can of stale beer in there, and one random tagging. And FYI if you get graffiti on your LFL's Plexiglas window, gel hand sanitizer removes it like magic.)
posted by caution live frogs at 9:14 PM on August 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
(It's been a mostly good experience, with the exception of one dickbag who left a half-empty can of stale beer in there, and one random tagging. And FYI if you get graffiti on your LFL's Plexiglas window, gel hand sanitizer removes it like magic.)
posted by caution live frogs at 9:14 PM on August 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
Our city has quite a few of these and a devoted group to look after them. The city seems to view them benevolently and there have been few issues barring the occasional wholesale cleaning out of books that happens from time to time. I send some of my books to them and others to the shelf in the break room at work - it means I don't hoard books like I used to and you get that virtuous tingle.
posted by PussKillian at 9:15 PM on August 24, 2015
posted by PussKillian at 9:15 PM on August 24, 2015
Sounds like it's about time to fly Madison in for a stump speech.
We need books! They fuel our mind like cars and gas! Cars can't go without gas! Our minds can't go without books! We need books! And that's why we need little free libraries! It would break my heart if just one book was lost - just one word, just one page, was lost! What would the world do without books? It would be empty, like a bucket without water, like a brain without knowledge, like a file cabinet without papers. We need books!
posted by pretentious illiterate at 9:15 PM on August 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
We need books! They fuel our mind like cars and gas! Cars can't go without gas! Our minds can't go without books! We need books! And that's why we need little free libraries! It would break my heart if just one book was lost - just one word, just one page, was lost! What would the world do without books? It would be empty, like a bucket without water, like a brain without knowledge, like a file cabinet without papers. We need books!
posted by pretentious illiterate at 9:15 PM on August 24, 2015 [4 favorites]
My favorite library service in my parents' suburb is that they have some "take a book - leave a book" shelves in the commuter train station that are stocked weekly by their library. I make sure to leave lots of good books there because it did me many solids when I was broke and in college.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:21 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:21 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
These are pretty popular in Victoria BC, which is cool. However one neighbourhood council (Oak Bay) decided to put in a piano on a sidewalk, which drove nearby residents nuts. Municipal politicians can be pretty goofy sometimes.
posted by Nevin at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Nevin at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
What is the take on the morality of taking the books out of the LFL and then selling them on the street not so far away? Because I am a disappointed donor having seen that happen to my books.
posted by Tad Naff at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Tad Naff at 9:24 PM on August 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
People who do that spend eternity in the tenth-and-a-half circle, where they are forced by whip-wielding demons to lug a heavy box of Lotus 1-2-3 manuals from 1993 down an endless street of secondhand poetry bookstores, asking for a valuation at each one as they go.
posted by No-sword at 9:58 PM on August 24, 2015 [28 favorites]
posted by No-sword at 9:58 PM on August 24, 2015 [28 favorites]
Thanks pretentious illiterate - I came here just a bit late to post her speech
posted by growabrain at 10:11 PM on August 24, 2015
posted by growabrain at 10:11 PM on August 24, 2015
I built one of these. On city land, no less! I had to work with the City Solicitor to get approval and I'm technically a city lease holder now (to the grand tune of a dollar a year), but the process on that end was actually pretty easy once they understood what I wanted to do.
Really, the hardest thing was building up the gumption to actually construct the thing. There was a local Facebook Group that started trying to get these things built and they really helped supply the motivation I needed to just do it - by being sort of totalitarian jerks who did not want anyone to build anything until They Had Their Meetings Because This Was Their Idea You Guys. The kicker was when one of them had an interview in the paper where she slammed the local library and I, as a librarian, was like THIS SHALL NOT STAND and was at Lowes with a card full of wood and righteous fury that afternoon.
I do need to cycle out the books every so often. Replacements are easy for me to come by at work (discards, donations) and my son gets a big kick walking down the bike path every few days to check out the library he designed.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:46 AM on August 25, 2015 [18 favorites]
Really, the hardest thing was building up the gumption to actually construct the thing. There was a local Facebook Group that started trying to get these things built and they really helped supply the motivation I needed to just do it - by being sort of totalitarian jerks who did not want anyone to build anything until They Had Their Meetings Because This Was Their Idea You Guys. The kicker was when one of them had an interview in the paper where she slammed the local library and I, as a librarian, was like THIS SHALL NOT STAND and was at Lowes with a card full of wood and righteous fury that afternoon.
I do need to cycle out the books every so often. Replacements are easy for me to come by at work (discards, donations) and my son gets a big kick walking down the bike path every few days to check out the library he designed.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 3:46 AM on August 25, 2015 [18 favorites]
A friend of mine has had a Little Free Library for a few years and it usually works out well. But she has also been cleaned out twice or three times. The last time, a neighbor saw a woman with a black trash bag taking all the books. When confronted by the neighbor, the woman said, "It's okay, I know what I'm doing."
@Eyebrows McGee One of the local suburbs tried to put a take-a-book leave-a-book shelf in the train station, like other suburbs have. The railroad said no because they were afraid people would throw books around and someone could get hurt.
posted by bentley at 4:32 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
@Eyebrows McGee One of the local suburbs tried to put a take-a-book leave-a-book shelf in the train station, like other suburbs have. The railroad said no because they were afraid people would throw books around and someone could get hurt.
posted by bentley at 4:32 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
My favorite library service in my parents' suburb is that they have some "take a book - leave a book" shelves in the commuter train station that are stocked weekly by their library.
I was pleased a few years ago to find one in the tiny airport (four flights per day) serving a remote town in northern British Columbia. I was there again a couple of months ago and the renovations had overtaken it and replaced it with a Coke machine. I guess now that space has been monetized.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:50 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was pleased a few years ago to find one in the tiny airport (four flights per day) serving a remote town in northern British Columbia. I was there again a couple of months ago and the renovations had overtaken it and replaced it with a Coke machine. I guess now that space has been monetized.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 4:50 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
Now imagine a virtual free library with ebooks! Oh wait . . .never mind
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:22 AM on August 25, 2015
posted by Obscure Reference at 5:22 AM on August 25, 2015
D'oh. Try this. The architect poses next to his actualized design.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:45 AM on August 25, 2015 [19 favorites]
posted by robocop is bleeding at 5:45 AM on August 25, 2015 [19 favorites]
I sort-of know a guy who has one of these in our mostly liberal neighborhood. For a few months, an anonymous person would leave an Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity book behind every week. Drove the owner nuts.
Trolling: not just for the Internet.
posted by echocollate at 6:07 AM on August 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
Trolling: not just for the Internet.
posted by echocollate at 6:07 AM on August 25, 2015 [8 favorites]
Our neighborhood is stiff with these little libraries, but the books tend to be meh: airport bestsellers and sports memoirs and money advice ephemera.
But the one half a block from me is an exception, with a great and continually varied collection; probably because geography and access to certain small businesses tends to encourage walkers on this street over other nearby ones.
Anyway it often includes small toys for kids, pens, little tools and keyrings, you name it. We put a fish scaler in that vanished within a day.
This is good to hear. I've gone back and forth on the merits of installing a LFL in front of our house. In my observation, they usually wind up filled with junk: Windows 95 for Dummies, IKEA assembly instructions, Who Moved My Cheese. But reading through some of the comments on this post, it occurs to me that LFL owners have the option to take on the additional responsibility of curation/quality control to keep up a compelling collection. (Given the ceaseless flow of books that runs through our home, this should be doable.)
I also love the Boo-Radleyesque concept of leaving other trinkets in the LFL.
posted by duffell at 6:33 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
But the one half a block from me is an exception, with a great and continually varied collection; probably because geography and access to certain small businesses tends to encourage walkers on this street over other nearby ones.
Anyway it often includes small toys for kids, pens, little tools and keyrings, you name it. We put a fish scaler in that vanished within a day.
This is good to hear. I've gone back and forth on the merits of installing a LFL in front of our house. In my observation, they usually wind up filled with junk: Windows 95 for Dummies, IKEA assembly instructions, Who Moved My Cheese. But reading through some of the comments on this post, it occurs to me that LFL owners have the option to take on the additional responsibility of curation/quality control to keep up a compelling collection. (Given the ceaseless flow of books that runs through our home, this should be doable.)
I also love the Boo-Radleyesque concept of leaving other trinkets in the LFL.
posted by duffell at 6:33 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I keep meaning to construct a LFL for our house; I know of at least five in a 1 kilometer radius around us, and I restock them with whatever I've finished reading (mostly interesting fiction and some history non-fiction). I think only one of them has the dreaded airport book stuff in them, the rest seem to be quite neat. I picked up some interesting food history from one of them just last week!
posted by Kitteh at 6:44 AM on August 25, 2015
posted by Kitteh at 6:44 AM on August 25, 2015
The moral of the story is that someone will always ruin it for everyone. In any large enough community, you will have some idiot who builds these things on a public right of way and raises a stink over the fact that it's not allowed. And then in any large enough community, there will be some idiot picking fights and reporting what are perceived to be any possible violation of zoning codes or simply personal aesthetic preferences (and the ever-favorite, "what about the children???"). In summary, it is why we can't have nice things.
posted by deanc at 6:46 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by deanc at 6:46 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
...the additional responsibility of curation/quality control ...
Throwing out rubbish, yes; 'curation' seems to introduce a new concept. No offence meant, but I can already hear someone talking about the way they let little Jennifer curate a presentation on healthy eating for their LFL out of their personal collection.
posted by Segundus at 7:08 AM on August 25, 2015
Throwing out rubbish, yes; 'curation' seems to introduce a new concept. No offence meant, but I can already hear someone talking about the way they let little Jennifer curate a presentation on healthy eating for their LFL out of their personal collection.
posted by Segundus at 7:08 AM on August 25, 2015
I first saw one of these a few months ago while on my evening walk. I thought it was a great idea and toyed with the idea of setting one up myself, but our neighbor down the street beat me to the punch and put one up a few weeks ago.
I borrowed this book and am looking forward to reading it.
posted by Lucinda at 7:12 AM on August 25, 2015
I borrowed this book and am looking forward to reading it.
posted by Lucinda at 7:12 AM on August 25, 2015
I do like this one. I'm very tempted to try and make a tardis version with my minimal woodworking skills, but I'm sure my wife would not be keen on the idea.
I made the mistake of mentioning once that quite a few of the LFLs are Ingress portals, and could visibly see her interest in having one at our house fall from "very" to "no f'n way".
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 7:23 AM on August 25, 2015
I made the mistake of mentioning once that quite a few of the LFLs are Ingress portals, and could visibly see her interest in having one at our house fall from "very" to "no f'n way".
posted by Chuckles McLaughy du Haha, the depressed clown at 7:23 AM on August 25, 2015
My mom lives in an apartment building of 70 or so units and the back door has one of these in all but name; people drop off books into a couple of boxes and others pick them up then later return them as they see fit. It has been my go-to site for dropping off the occasional box of cast-offs from winnowing my own collection.
On the one hand, I think my tastes are sort of an outlier when it comes to Books Read By Canadian Senior Citizens, so I wonder at the reaction her fellow tenants must have when among endless romances and Dan Brown books there is a Bukowski volume or an H.P. Lovecraft collection. On the other hand, the books do not often return, so perhaps someone is liking them enough to hang on to them. Or maybe they just toss them in the dumpster as depraved trash. Who's to say?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:48 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
On the one hand, I think my tastes are sort of an outlier when it comes to Books Read By Canadian Senior Citizens, so I wonder at the reaction her fellow tenants must have when among endless romances and Dan Brown books there is a Bukowski volume or an H.P. Lovecraft collection. On the other hand, the books do not often return, so perhaps someone is liking them enough to hang on to them. Or maybe they just toss them in the dumpster as depraved trash. Who's to say?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:48 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm very tempted to try and make a tardis version
That kind of works. If you go by surface area, a little box full of books is way bigger on the inside.
posted by flabdablet at 7:53 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
That kind of works. If you go by surface area, a little box full of books is way bigger on the inside.
posted by flabdablet at 7:53 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
To be honest, this whole thing seems like libertarian clickbait to get people's hackles up about government practices.
I've known Michael Schaub who wrote the LA Times piece referenced by the Atlantic (and have been trying vainly to get him to join MetaFilter) for years and he's no libertarian -- he's just a good old book loving librul trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us.
Can't speak for the Atlantic.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:08 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I've known Michael Schaub who wrote the LA Times piece referenced by the Atlantic (and have been trying vainly to get him to join MetaFilter) for years and he's no libertarian -- he's just a good old book loving librul trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us.
Can't speak for the Atlantic.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:08 AM on August 25, 2015 [1 favorite]
I like the idea of neighbors reading, sharing books, and having a common base for conversation if you run into another reader at the book exchange.
I also like going to a local building that provides services for the underprivileged, has people who will help you with research tasks, and receives some funding based on demonstrated usage -- the public library.
I'm an unrepentant buyer of books and don't go to the library as often as I should, but...
posted by mikeh at 8:15 AM on August 25, 2015
I also like going to a local building that provides services for the underprivileged, has people who will help you with research tasks, and receives some funding based on demonstrated usage -- the public library.
I'm an unrepentant buyer of books and don't go to the library as often as I should, but...
posted by mikeh at 8:15 AM on August 25, 2015
I've known Michael Schaub who wrote the LA Times piece referenced by the Atlantic (and have been trying vainly to get him to join MetaFilter) for years and he's no libertarian -- he's just a good old book loving librul trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us.
Mike's a good dude. He also contributed to this book, which incidentally, would make a great addition to any Little Free Library.
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:51 AM on August 25, 2015
Mike's a good dude. He also contributed to this book, which incidentally, would make a great addition to any Little Free Library.
posted by Atom Eyes at 8:51 AM on August 25, 2015
I also like going to a local building that provides services for the underprivileged, has people who will help you with research tasks, and receives some funding based on demonstrated usage -- the public library.Speaking as someone who goes to the library all the time and also sometimes takes books from and leaves books in the nearest LFL, I don't see these things as being in competition at all. And for what it's worth, in my town the biggest boosters of LFLs is a pro-literacy organization that also raises money for the public library.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 11:07 AM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've known Michael Schaub who wrote the LA Times piece referenced by the Atlantic (and have been trying vainly to get him to join MetaFilter) for years and he's no libertarian -- he's just a good old book loving librul trying to scratch out a living like the rest of us.
His reporting was actually well done, I thought. The Atlantic piece with its outraged headline, its ignorance of the facts in the articles that it directly links, and its overall tone struck me as the 'libertarian clickbait'.
posted by codacorolla at 11:21 AM on August 25, 2015
His reporting was actually well done, I thought. The Atlantic piece with its outraged headline, its ignorance of the facts in the articles that it directly links, and its overall tone struck me as the 'libertarian clickbait'.
posted by codacorolla at 11:21 AM on August 25, 2015
Writing for The Atlantic, Friedersdorf laid out his argument for why he refused to vote for Barack Obama in 2012 and was supporting Gary Johnson in his bid for president as the Libertarian Party candidate.[4]
posted by phearlez at 11:53 AM on August 25, 2015
posted by phearlez at 11:53 AM on August 25, 2015
Canada Post is taking away our to the door delivery. I'm betting the community mailbox is going to be at the park four doors down and if so I plan to set up a LFL right next to it. The tardis theme is a great idea.
posted by Mitheral at 12:52 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Mitheral at 12:52 PM on August 25, 2015 [2 favorites]
If you were going to design the *ideal* neighborhood for raising children, it would include LFLs stocked with children's books that get passed around and the kids are excited to go for walks with the family after dinner looking to see if anything new has appeared in these little magic boxes and after a while everyone's kid in a 6 block radius has read the same books and has a shared experience.
Also, no hills, because living on a hill sucks for a 5 year old who's doing his best to learn to ride his bike all summer.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:58 PM on August 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
Also, no hills, because living on a hill sucks for a 5 year old who's doing his best to learn to ride his bike all summer.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 1:58 PM on August 25, 2015 [7 favorites]
I sort-of know a guy who has one of these in our mostly liberal neighborhood. For a few months, an anonymous person would leave an Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity book behind every week. Drove the owner nuts.
At a used bookstore in my hometown, I came across two copies of Godless by Ann Coulter that both appeared brand new, but one was priced $3 and one was priced $4.50. I was curious about the difference, so I flipped open the $3 copy to see what had caused it to be priced lower. I was hoping for angry margin notes or amusing highlighter choices.
Nope. The only difference was that the cheaper copy had Ann Coulter's signature on the inside cover. Apparently, it is worth -$1.50.
posted by almostmanda at 4:45 PM on August 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
At a used bookstore in my hometown, I came across two copies of Godless by Ann Coulter that both appeared brand new, but one was priced $3 and one was priced $4.50. I was curious about the difference, so I flipped open the $3 copy to see what had caused it to be priced lower. I was hoping for angry margin notes or amusing highlighter choices.
Nope. The only difference was that the cheaper copy had Ann Coulter's signature on the inside cover. Apparently, it is worth -$1.50.
posted by almostmanda at 4:45 PM on August 25, 2015 [11 favorites]
I have this in my front yard. It's not an official LFL because being registered as one is not worth $35 to me. It is however registered on BookCrossing, Minibieb, Librarything and on Openbookcase.
BookCrossing jives really well with book exchanges of all kinds, because you can (if you're lucky) track the books, and if someone takes them and does not swap or return, you can be happy that your books are travelling. In fact I do not want or ask people to borrow or swap, they can just take books and I don't want them back; still, many of them come back anyway and lots of friendly folks leave decent newish books of their own. I always have more books than I know what to do with.
I'd say that the system works really well here. My neighbours seem to appreciate it and I've heard nothing but positive remarks. My books do not get stolen to be sold because they're marked as BookCrossing books which diminishes the monetary value.
I don't think that anyone in the Netherlands who has a LFL, OBCZ, Straatbieb, Minibieb or Boekenhuisje has yet been asked to tear it down.
I do think there's a bit of a hype right now, and way too many initiatives who all seem to think they're the Only True Listing for book exchanges. That'll pass in a few years, and then we'll see which websites and organisations are left.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:46 AM on August 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
BookCrossing jives really well with book exchanges of all kinds, because you can (if you're lucky) track the books, and if someone takes them and does not swap or return, you can be happy that your books are travelling. In fact I do not want or ask people to borrow or swap, they can just take books and I don't want them back; still, many of them come back anyway and lots of friendly folks leave decent newish books of their own. I always have more books than I know what to do with.
I'd say that the system works really well here. My neighbours seem to appreciate it and I've heard nothing but positive remarks. My books do not get stolen to be sold because they're marked as BookCrossing books which diminishes the monetary value.
I don't think that anyone in the Netherlands who has a LFL, OBCZ, Straatbieb, Minibieb or Boekenhuisje has yet been asked to tear it down.
I do think there's a bit of a hype right now, and way too many initiatives who all seem to think they're the Only True Listing for book exchanges. That'll pass in a few years, and then we'll see which websites and organisations are left.
posted by Too-Ticky at 3:46 AM on August 26, 2015 [3 favorites]
I live in a large HOA that has just deployed Little Free Libraries throughout the community. Our program uses volunteer "librarians" assigned to one of the six boxes to keep things tidy, check levels, etc. The box nearest the community garden is appropriately themed and users are encouraged to leave seeds and cookbooks. My HOA is pretty cool.
posted by candyland at 5:26 AM on August 26, 2015
posted by candyland at 5:26 AM on August 26, 2015
What's funny about our neighborhood is if you put a pretty desirable book in (SF novels get snatched up fast around here if they're not too minor and backlist, where Notepad for Dummies, Get Rich By Writing Books Like This One and Obama's Secret Plan to Kill Your White Blue Eyed Daughter tend to just moulder in them forever) you can slowly watch it migrate around the neighborhood, because people don't tend to return them to the same LFL.
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:27 AM on August 26, 2015
posted by George_Spiggott at 10:27 AM on August 26, 2015
Devils Rancher and Atom Eyes, I have been seeking out new Michael Schaub news ever since he wowed me in his Bookslut blogging. I am one of the few who joined him in trying to make "pernicious bollocks" a catchphrase! Feel free to point to me as another plaintive voice awaiting his arrival here on MeFi.
posted by brainwane at 10:24 PM on August 26, 2015
posted by brainwane at 10:24 PM on August 26, 2015
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posted by Slarty Bartfast at 7:23 PM on August 24, 2015 [46 favorites]