Little Free Library Etiquette
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Anonymous
steward * |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for the range of replies. It sounds like I am ok if I don't always return a book or return it to another LFL.
I will try to occasionally make the rounds with books people may actually want to read! |
Anonymous
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I take books only occasionally from the LFL, but I do drop off books. It's really ok to only take, especially if you're just occasionally taking one. That's the whole point!
But I would suggest donating books back instead of taking them to Goodwill. Just drive around one afternoon and put 2-3 in each LFL you see. I know of 4 that are close to my house and I will pop on a backpack full of books and clear a shelf once I've accumulated too many. |
Anonymous
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Why are you donating the books instead of putting them back in a box? I don't get it.
Put the books back in any box. This is why a lot of these are empty! |
Anonymous
Is there any way to know where the empty ones are? All the ones around me are overflowing. |
Anonymous
This is absurd. The point of the libraries is for people to get rid of books they dont want and for others to read them. It's not a one to one exchange |
Anonymous
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The ones in my neighborhood are always full so I don’t worry about it. I have a stack of books by the door I mean to distribute, but I always forget. I’f I saw more empty libraries I would probably prioritize it.
I see people take without leaving anything regularly. 95% of interactions I see are taking. Somehow it all balances out! |
Anonymous
I'm a LFL steward and this drives me nuts. It's a book exchange box, not a recycling bin! My husband or I check it every day to make sure everything is in good condition. I removed a guidebook for Virginia trails from the 90s the other day. As if that's reliable! Also, most hikers use AllTrails or other apps for trail guides. I sometimes do swap runs where I trade books from my library with ones in other LFLs in my town. It's so depressing to see the garbage (literally) in some of them. Stewarding a good box doesn't take THAT much time. There's no reason boxes should be full of old, torn up magazines, WordPerfect for Dummies, or a textbook that's outdated. Just recycle that crap, people! 
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Anonymous
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PP who just posted here. The children seem to really like the "take a book, leave a book" thing. There's a little guy who comes by and leaves board books because he's growing into more advanced books. It's so cute.
Anyway, OP. If you love the boxes near you, maybe at some point you can use a library sale to buy a few books to leave at the different boxes you frequent since you aren't going to haul a stack on every walk. It's called "Book Bombing" (I know, I kind of cringe) on social media. |
Anonymous
| Is there a closed FB group for the LFL stewards in Moco? |
Anonymous
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If you want to read & return, just use a library.
Put the book back if you don't like it, keep it if you do. Don't sell books you get from the boxes. I'm glad when people take books I put in, and don't care if they never give any back, or if there's never anything in there for me. Instead of dropping them at goodwill, I'm supporting community connection. It would bother me if they take them just to sell them as imo that is not the spirit of the boxes. |
Anonymous
| LFL is about the culture, not the books. There's no way a little local area wants to read the same 10 random books. |
Anonymous
I donate to one outside a high school swimming pool. More people take than give, so it's a good place to unload my donations. The neighborhood one don't turn over as quickly. |
Anonymous
| Get in touch with a steward. They will take books in their home and put books out when needed. |
Anonymous
| It's fine. I donate but almost never take. We balance each other out, lol. |