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Is the idea that “book boxes are replacements for libraries” widely held? I have one and that idea seems insane to me. The book box to me is a nice landscaping

Is the idea that “book boxes are replacements for libraries” widely held? I have one and that idea seems insane to me. The book box to me is a nice landscaping feature, a place to drink coffee with my neighbors, a signal about my politics, a way for us to unload books & my attempt to get rad comics to school kids. I’d never correlate it to a public lending library.

bobthepanda 8y ago
Their messaging certainly doesn't discourage the behavior: https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/ In the face of funding declines for libraries, it also doesn't seem very ridiculous for someone to suggest. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/americans-like-their-libraries-but-they-use-them-less-and-less-pew/477336/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/ameri...
- kasey_junk 8y ago
  Wait nothing about that Atlantic article suggests people are funding libraries less because of book boxes? I'd be shocked if there was a correlation there (I'm not at all shocked by the correlation with book boxes and affluent neighborhoods). Also as an aside, if you are thinking about doing a book box there is no need to give the littlefreelibrary organization money. You can just put one up.
  - bobthepanda 8y ago
    It becomes another quiver in the arguments of small-government zealots. Why do we need social services when good Christians donate to charity? Why do we need public transit when Lyft and Uber are here to save the day? A more pertinent link: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/01/02/question-little-free-libraries/ https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/01/02/question-li... > But Hale and Schmidt point to at least one place where Little Free Libraries are seen as a substitute for true public library services. When budget cuts caused the El Paso (Tex.) Public Library to implement a $50 annual fee for nonresidents to use the library system, the tiny town of nearby Vinton came up with a plan: five Little Free Libraries spread around the community. The town would build them, and keeping them stocked with books would be up to the people of Vinton themselves. > When Detroit Public Library (DPL) closed its Gabriel Richard branch in 2011, 4th graders at a local elementary school installed a colorful painted bookcase and a sign reading “Outdoor Library” in front of the shuttered building. It was one of four libraries to close that year—two have since reopened, though only two to three days a week.
    - kasey_junk 8y ago
      Again in both of those places the book boxes were reactions to changes in the library funding not causes. I see the argument could be made. I’m wondering how often it is. And I’d be shocked if it was ever made by people who are housing book boxes. Quite the opposite I’d bet they were generally strong proponents of public libraries.

bobthepanda 8y ago

Their messaging certainly doesn't discourage the behavior: https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/about/ In the face of funding declines for libraries, it also doesn't seem very ridiculous for someone to suggest. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/americans-like-their-libraries-but-they-use-them-less-and-less-pew/477336/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/04/ameri...

kasey_junk 8y ago
Wait nothing about that Atlantic article suggests people are funding libraries less because of book boxes? I'd be shocked if there was a correlation there (I'm not at all shocked by the correlation with book boxes and affluent neighborhoods). Also as an aside, if you are thinking about doing a book box there is no need to give the littlefreelibrary organization money. You can just put one up.
- bobthepanda 8y ago
  It becomes another quiver in the arguments of small-government zealots. Why do we need social services when good Christians donate to charity? Why do we need public transit when Lyft and Uber are here to save the day? A more pertinent link: https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/01/02/question-little-free-libraries/ https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/01/02/question-li... > But Hale and Schmidt point to at least one place where Little Free Libraries are seen as a substitute for true public library services. When budget cuts caused the El Paso (Tex.) Public Library to implement a $50 annual fee for nonresidents to use the library system, the tiny town of nearby Vinton came up with a plan: five Little Free Libraries spread around the community. The town would build them, and keeping them stocked with books would be up to the people of Vinton themselves. > When Detroit Public Library (DPL) closed its Gabriel Richard branch in 2011, 4th graders at a local elementary school installed a colorful painted bookcase and a sign reading “Outdoor Library” in front of the shuttered building. It was one of four libraries to close that year—two have since reopened, though only two to three days a week.
  - kasey_junk 8y ago
    Again in both of those places the book boxes were reactions to changes in the library funding not causes. I see the argument could be made. I’m wondering how often it is. And I’d be shocked if it was ever made by people who are housing book boxes. Quite the opposite I’d bet they were generally strong proponents of public libraries.