Jeff and Marie’s Library in Leavenworth, KS.
“Hooray! We brought literacy back to the world!”
Little Free Library stewards Jeff and Margaret Howards were so proud of their Library in Leavenworth, Kansas. “The Library was quickly accepted…we could see usage right away as books came and went. We could sneak peeks out the windows and see people sitting on the bench reading,” they said.
“Taking the lead from photos of other LFLs, we placed a bright yellow metal park bench alongside the Library…we balanced the display with a large, metal pink flamingo. What can I say? We are old people who got sucked into the pink flamingo black hole. We have them everywhere…it gives the neighbors something to talk about.”
But then something terrible happened. Jeff and Margaret arrived home one day and saw that the bench and flamingo were missing, possibly stolen by someone selling scrap metal or someone who just wanted it for their own patio. So what did they do?
RUN! Zombie Flamingos!
They filed a police report (the officer knew exactly which bench they meant since he regularly patrolled the area). Then they put up a sign saying: Whomever stole the yellow bench from our children’s library, BRING IT BACK!
The sign had two purposes: 1) They wanted the thief to know they weren’t happy and 2) They wanted the neighborhood to know there was a thief and to keep an eye out.
Guess what happened next? A few days later they discovered an envelope on their front porch. “It was a note from the neighborhood. It stated that not only did they appreciate what we were doing, but it included a sizable cash collection to help replace the bench. Well, that motivated us to quickly get the new bench out!”
Every time we hear a tragic story of Little Library vandalism, it is followed by an excited note sharing how the neighborhood banded together to get the Library up and running again. It is amazing what can happen if you ask for help.
The chances that your Library will be vandalized are very small, but be prepared to rebuild..and rebuild once again if needed. Don’t give up. Ask for help. You started a Little Library for a reason – to spread the joy of reading! That is a worthwhile mission.
OK, we know what you’re thinking…Jeff and Margaret replaced the bench, but what about the pink flamingo?
“Fortunately for the world, there was only one large metal pink flamingo,” they ruefully reported, “but we replaced it with 2 plastic fall-colored flamingos and we are back in business.”
What’s more, as of early October, Jeff assured us that zombie flamingos now chased the rest of the flock around the lawn…just to make sure the neighbors still had something to talk about.
Stay tuned for more posts in the Rebuild and Revitalize Series.
A few weeks ago, all the books were removed from my LFL. Rather than dwell on bitter thoughts, I set out right away to replenish the shelves. But guess what? Within 3 days, the shelves were full again without my efforts! Demonstrating once again that good triumphs!
My LFL gets a lot of visits, and most people follow the “Leave a Book, Take a Book” message. Unfortunately, someone recently took most of the books and a special container with dog treats and dog poop bags (which I had provided for local dog walkers). This has made me sad for the greedy/needy person(s) who took so much.
We have 3 LFLs in Muskego built by an Eagle Scout. All three Are well~used and popular. We love them,Thanks
My LFL was vandalized, and so I took it to its maker, who repaired it and I had it back up within 2 weeks. Many people expressed their outrage that someone had used a bat crush one side of the little building. I was only surprised that it took more than a year before some teenager found it an irresistable target. To my amazement, a donor offered me money—the exact amount it took to pay for the repair!! The Little Free Library movement brings out goodness in everyone! As far as people stealing all the books? It has only happened once. My biggest problem is the onslaught of donations!!!
I came home on break from my job the other day to find my entire library emptied of books! I have had trouble with a woman doing this before but after my neighbor chased after her last summer I thought that I was done with this. A few weeks ago 75 of my children’s books were taken all at once. I am really getting fed up with this and am leary about restocking my library as this could happen again and again. I tried to stay positive but this week was the straw that broke the camels back. I am a senior citizen and can’t afford to keep restocking my library due to a thief. All of my books were labeled and stamped and they were still all taken.. about 200 books gone at once!
Regarding your hello bench… I also have a yellow bench but I chained it to the post that my library is on and it made it through the summer. Now if I could only solve the problem of the book thief who cleans out all of my books!
We put our little library up this summer and got good responses from the neighborhood. On Saturday night, a group of drunk vandals came by and pushed it over, breaking the door and bending the hinge. We also had some other property damage, including ripping out a trellis fence and throwing it in the street. I reported the damage at 2AM and then had to bring all the books inside so they would not get wet.
We intend to repair it and have it operating again, but it’s really disheartening.