Steward Maria Gallegos loves and daily cares for her cute, little-red-schoolhouse-themed Little Free Library. It was a big hit in her small town of Dillon, Montana.
When her neighbors informed her that the Library had been vandalized, with threatening words scrawled in pink lipstick on the front window and a broken bottle left inside, Maria was disheartened. Why would someone damage a Little Free Library?
Maria, next to her Little Free Library.
We’ve found that, in nearly every case, the culprits are kids or teenagers with a little too much youthful energy, misdirected at Little Libraries out of boredom or convenience. Occasionally it’s a random person, drunk or otherwise intoxicated, just passing by who lashes out at the nearest object. In one exceptional case, Mother Nature herself struck a Library covered in keys and wound up burning it to the ground.
In Maria’s case, two local teenage girls were responsible for the vandalism. After a brief call to the police, Maria decided she’d prefer to work it out privately with the girls’ families. The girls were reprimanded by their parents and worked off their debt by scrubbing down the Library and raking leaves in Maria’s lawn one afternoon.
“Dillon is a small town where news travels fast. I have had many people approach me with words of support and sympathy. One neighbor even came over while the girls were out working and told me how pleased he was that we lived in a rural area that still supported such punishment for juvenile behavior. I know that a lot of eyes will be watching out for the well being of a tiny library,” Maria happily reported.
“Does everyone always follow that simple rule of exchange? No. It took me a while, but I soon realized that the whole idea behind my LFL is to share my love of reading, not police those that choose to not read the very visible sign posted on the door on my Library: Take a Book, Leave a Book.”
We asked Maria what advice she could offer to other stewards who have had similar experiences with vandalism or theft. She warned that her approach may not work for everyone, but that it has been highly successful for her. Here is what she advised:
- I have made my Library as public as I can. A large article about my Library was published in our local paper and I visit local organizations, clubs, and schools. Every spring I lead classes to and from my Library on “ book exchange field trips.” I send out fliers to parents just before school lets out for the summer, informing them of the Library, its location and its purpose.
- I am often outside when people visit my Library. I make it a point to approach them. I introduce myself and happily share my enthusiasm for reading, and welcome those that visit, whether it is their first stop, or their 100th.
- Our local police officers have children who exchange books, and those same officers keep an eye on it. I often see them looking it over carefully as they slowly drive by in their police car…and I exchange a smile and a wave with them. Not only is my little red schoolhouse Library very visible, I try to be, as well!
- After my Library was vandalized, I did (angrily) consider installing a ‘candid camera’ to monitor patron and vandal activity…but I am not convinced that is the right answer. I can always remove the Library completely. A sad thought, but a possible and simple solution.
“If all of my patrons helped themselves and did not leave a book in return, I would soon simply not have a Library at all,” said Maria. “Does everyone always follow that simple rule of exchange? No. Do I expect everyone to? No, although initially I did. It took me a while, but I soon realized that the whole idea behind my LFL is to share my love of reading, not police those that choose to not read the very visible sign posted on the door on my Library: Free Book Exchange, Take a Book, Leave a Book.”
“There are those that take books and do not ever leave any. On the other hand, I have patrons that drop off entire boxes of lovely books, and never take any in exchange. I think it all evens out in the long run…I built my LFL because I love the heft, and feel, and smell of ink and paper between my fingers and the amazing adventures I take without ever having to leave home… I hope to offer this same amazing thrill to all who have or who wish to cultivate a love of reading,” Maria concluded.
For more stories in the Rebuild and Revitalize series, click here.
Human nature?? Go figure!! I use the two I’ve found quite frequently & I was informed that last summer one of those was vandalized!!! May I suggest a website that my son (A school teacher in Indiana originated? “erase meaness.com ; it deals with just such things as this (& bullying) It’s gone Global!!!! By the way ,I also donate books to the LFL. I’ve been a reader all my life ( I’m 77) ,so I wish you well;you are appreciated!
Hi Orlo,
Thanks for the link to the website; I’ll be sure to check it out. It’s great to hear that you’re regularly using and sharing books through your local Little Free Libraries, too. Read on! – Megan
I’m going to check out that website.
I can’t wait to get my own Little Free Library.
I’m such a lover of BOOKS and stories and love to share them.
We installed our Little Free Library over the summer, and mostly it has been very joyous for us. My husband and I are both big readers who love to share our reading experiences. However, it is very disheartening to confront the fact that many people use our library as nothing more than a dumping ground. They are not, obviously, neighbors who come to share a book or two and take another few home, but folks who do not have the time, energy or selflessness to donate their discarded books to one of the many programs in our area which would be thrilled to receive them. Thus we are perpetually stuck with far more books than our library can hold. Does anybody else have this problem? I would very much appreciate your thoughts.
Hi Joan. Seems like a good problem to have. You can always sift through the ‘donations’ and find a few gems, then direct the rest to a local thrift shop or charity. Better to have people dumping books than taking all your books and not replacing them.
Joan, I understand how you feel. When I first built my library, I had not considered that I might end up with more books than my library could hold…and some in very poor shape! As people learned about my little library; many asked if they could donate a BOX or two of books. Intially, I described the small dimentions and equally small book capacity of my library. It did not take me long to realize that I was turning away perfectly good books because they would not fit into my library all at once. Now I take the time to let people know what sort of books I offer in my library. I also stress that all incoming books should be in undamaged and gently used condition, so others can enjoy them. I ask what sort of books my potential donors have to share. This helps prevent the donation of old encyclopedia sets and outdated magazines. Yes, I sift out damaged or inappropriate books, and pass some to thrift shops, but I also have a nice stash of books set aside in storage that I can use to restock my library as needed.
At least having more books than will fit in your LFL is a GOOD problem to have. =) We have a Facebook group, ‘Lincoln’s Little Free Libraries’ here in Lincoln, NE. and thru this group and a separate Stewards FB group we try to balance out the books amongst us. Some LFL’s experience more ‘takes’ and some have an overwhelming number of donations. One of Lincoln’s LFL’s had a ‘Take a Book – Take a Book’ day last fall. They set up a table underneath a canopy next to the LFL and advertised on FB and Cragslist to come and take a book. It wasn’t even something the Steward had to monitor since the books were just there for the taking anyway. It went over pretty well and the Steward got a lot of excess books into the community!
Hey Bob, that’s great that you’re all supporting each other in Lincoln! I love the Take a Book event, I might have to try that with my LFL! – Megan
My husband’s Mother’s Day gift last year was to build a Little Free Library for me. It has been a hit in our neighborhood. Unfortunately, someone has taken all of the books out of the Library~twice. I called the police the second time it happened but there was nothing they could do. Has anyone else had this problem? How have you handled it? For now I am going to the thrift store and library sales and refilling the library.
I always love hearing how things are going with other libraries. Ours has been up for just 6 months. I change the sign on mine periodically, but the main gist of my message is this:
Find a book you like? Take it.
When you are finished you can:
– Return it
– Keep it
– Pass it on to a friend
Have a book you want to share? Leave it here.
I have learned when people say they have a box or grocery bag of books, I ask them to choose 5 or so of the books they like the best. When neighbors ask about donating, I tell them as long as there is room in the box, go right ahead. So far, so good.
Someone put an empty whiskey bottle in ours once. GROSS! But it hasn’t happened since.
I stopped stocking children’s books for a while after someone repeatedly took *all* of them and never brought a single one back. Then one day, after I decided to restock the children’s books again, I saw why — a nearby nursery school had been taking field trips to our LFL — with a whole train of little kids holding on to their rope, and each one carefully choosing a book. This memory will make me smile for the rest of my life.
Now I try to make sure there are always plenty of little kid books.
I always make sure there are plenty of books for kids of all ages too! I love watching a child choose a book. Even more fun to watch them donate.
Good article. We also live in a very rural area. I haven’t had any bad experiences, although a few people take books without leaving any. I find most folks use it as a library. It would be more fun to have them leave different books. I’ve had many people donate boxes and bags of books. If I see some books staying for a long period, I exchange them with others that I have. I enjoy reading so much. I love the LFL book idea and I’m so glad to provide this service to our community.
As a former librarian I especially enjoy not having to check out the books. I have so many books left in my little library I share with our local public library. I choose my favorites to stock mine. Also I feel free to pass on those I feel inappropriate for mine. My choice! Betty, West Covina, Ca.