Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Free libraries or not?

The little lending library trend has been popping up all over cities and town within the last few years. However they have now hit a snag.


"A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of books. Anyone may take a book or bring a book to share. Little Free Library book exchanges have a unique, personal touch. There is an understanding that real people are sharing their favorite books with their community; Little Libraries have been called “mini-town squares.”



"These pocket libraries not only encourage people to read—they're open 24 hours a day every day of the year, and there are no library fines to deal with—but they also foster a sense of community, providing a meeting spot for neighbours to connect and share their favourite books."

from: http://www.straight.com/blogra/570356/mapping-vancouvers-neighborhood-book-exchanges



But "I wish that I was writing merely to extol this trend. Alas, a subset of Americans are determined to regulate every last aspect of community life. (...) The Leawood City Council said it had received a couple of complaints about Spencer Collins' Little Free Library. 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."

"Having written previously about crackdowns on parkway vegetable gardens, I knew the city's argument is that you can't do anything that might block emergency vehicle access, obstruct motorists' views, impede pedestrians or make it hard to open car doors. But the Tenn-Mann Library, at the intersection of a four-way stop, does none of those things. And I can't help but point out that a city tree in front of Cook's house, on the parkway strip, has untamed roots that have lifted the sidewalk a few inches, posing a clear and obvious obstruction and tripping hazard. The city pays out millions of dollars in trip-and-fall settlements every year, and last time I checked, tree-trimming was on a 45-year cycle—no joke. But put up a lending library and the city is at your door in a jiffy."

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