For context I have a toddler and the park we like to visit has a little library cabinet set up on the playground. One would assume this was targeted at kids as there are pictures of the cat in the hat on it. However every visit we are dismayed to find that it is jam packed with adult books such as Tom Clancy novels, random self help books, old issues of people magazine and other reading material that looks like it was rejected from half price books. Not a single kids or young adult book to be found. Would it be out of line if I swapped out all the adult books with a verity of children’s books?
by FatherlessCur
26 Comments
Could it be for parents to read while the kids play?
Why swap them entirely instead of just adding to it? I’d personally say yes that’s rude. It would be one thing if you intended to read the books but just removing them because you don’t like them is not great in my opinion. Just add some younger books in with the adult ones I say.
Why don’t you add children’s books to it? We have tons of those around, even at parks, and there is always a mix. What would you do with the full library of books?
You would, but you wouldn’t be out of line if you added children’s books without removing other books. Little lending libraries service a lot of people, but I suspect they tend to concentrate adult books because kid’s books are more likely to be taken.
Little free libraries are for everyone not just kids, it would be rude to swap out all the books for kids ones.
If the library was made by one person, I’d say yes it’s rude. If the library is just a public donation thing then I’d feel less bad about rearranging things as I suspect people are just dumping books they don’t want there regardless of whether or not it “fits” the intent of the library.
All that being said, I do feel that you’re probably being more fussy than rude.
Yes. You would definitely be out of line. It’s perfectly fine for there to be a variety of books on offer. What makes you think you know best? Start your own little library if it’s so important to you.
I think this would only be acceptable if the selection never changed. If nobody is borrowing or adding books, it might be time to shake things up.
Maybe just add a little library next to it that says it’s for kids?
well okay. i volunteer for my library and we coordinate the FLLs for the city. part of my job is to go around and take stock of what’s in them. if books are not getting taken out i take discarded library books and replace them which i believe is acceptable because it is promoting the vitality of the box.
technically what you want is allowed but i think could be interpreted as lawful evil especially if you notice a high turnover in books given and taken.
i suggest asking your library to start one for children. they’ll probably give you one or suggest what to do.
are the book changing?
i wouldn’t disrupt a flowing library but if it’s the same books every time, i’d have no issue with someone swapping out the entire thing
imo, a little library on a playground with dr. seuss stuff on it should have a bunch of childrens’ material inside
The little free library is not solely for your benefit, and so yes, it would be incredibly rude for you to unilaterally reshape it to serve only the needs you desire it to serve
I’ve read OP’s replies before commenting and find I have a different opinion than most commenters here.
If it’s decorated for children, at children’s height, and in a public park, that would lead me to believe it is also meant to be for children. So, it doesn’t sound like it’s a bad idea to swap a portion of the books out for children’s books.
However, I think it’s also possible that the little library may have just ended up taking on a different purpose than it originally had. Maybe people actually read the books there and swap them out regularly. In that case, it wouldn’t be ideal to swap them all out.
So, my solution is to take a picture of the contents a week before the swap. Then get enough children’s books to replace between 1/3 and 1/2 of the books there. Refer to the picture you took and only swap out the books that are in it since they’ll be the older and unwanted books. Take a new picture of what the contents are.Then you can stop by every few weeks or months and repeat the process. That should ensure the children and adults can both enjoy the little library. Make sure to find a good home for the books you removed, though.
YES.
You can mix it up, but “replacing them” is a D-move. Build your own kiddie library bro! Someone put time into this project, so work with what is there!
Taking all of them out, and especially trying to make it kids only, would indeed be rude. I appreciate your desire to improve the selection but these boxes are meant to be a communal thing where no one person determines the contents. If it’s slammed full, maybe take out a few (3-5) so you can add a few, and maybe do something like that every few weeks or months.
If you can talk to the coordinator of the LFL about the content and why it is a concern of yours then that would be best. You could offer a better suited collection if you already have one available. If that is impossible (or difficult) for you to do you could exchange the content over time instead of all at once.
You sound like you would love to be in charge of an HOA.
you could just talk to the library and voice your suggestion instead of taking it upon yourself to swap books that don’t belong to you.
Like a lot of others have said I wouldn’t swap them ALL out, but I have a couple neighbors with little free libraries who fairly consistently just recycle the magazines and outdated text books that get left in them.
Magazines do occasionally get grabbed if they’re more current but for the most part they just sit. And old textbooks aren’t helping anyone.
I have seen a LFL that was marked as ‘For Kids Only” but I think it’s presumptuous to do that if you aren’t the one who erected it.
Yes, it would be rude to swap all of them. Maybe parents want something to read also while they are there.
We have one at the park we go to by the playground and I’m always happy to find adult books. It should be a mix.
Yes, that would be incredibly rude. Are you aware that volunteers set up and maintain the boxes? If you want to make a wholesale change like this, get in touch with the non profit who manage the LFLs. However I’d encourage you to remember that just because the LFL is set up by the playground doesn’t mean it’s solely for children. If there is inappropriate material that’s one thing, but those books are supposed to be for everyone.
Who the fuck made you the library police lmao
Why don’t you make a second children’s little library and stock it up with your selections. Put it in your front yard.
Taking out all the adult books would be out of line. Taking out a few of the rattiest adult books and putting kids books in there would be ok imho.
I can appreciate what you think you’re trying to do here…but if it’s not your own personal little free library (that you painted and then mounted somewhere) then yes, it’s ridiculous for you to swap out its entire contents. If you have unlimited funds, then by all means add kids books to this library. Add kids books to every little free library in your neighborhood, town, city, etc. But don’t be surprised when the majority of the kids books don’t come back.