4 ms·

"I operate a Little Free Library that is a net source of books (people in the neighborhood drop off boxes of books)." Quite OT, but I've thought about doing th

by roel_v 8y ago

"I operate a Little Free Library that is a net source of books (people in the neighborhood drop off boxes of books)." Quite OT, but I've thought about doing this - how do you do this, practically speaking? Do you have a cupboard in the front of your house or do people actually come inside? Have you ever had to deal with vandalism? In what climate do you live, and what sort of infrastructure do you have?

philistine 8y ago
Go inside your house! Letting the neighbours in your house to grab books. You are the most generous, kindhearted person in the world if you really are thinking of doing it this way. It's a very big bird house on a pole in front of your house, just in front of the sidewalk. It's got a door with a window on it, so people can see the books. I live in a region with a cold climate and there are 7 or 8 exactly like what I'm describing in my neighbourhood. I don't personally have one but my wife wants to build one in the spring. Doesn't seem to be much of a vandalism magnet when they look so gosh-darn cute.
- roel_v 8y ago
  "Go inside your house! Letting the neighbours in your house to grab books." Well I was thinking more of a 'we're open Saturday mornings only' kind of deal, I can assure you I am far from the most generous, kindhearted person in the world :) "I live in a region with a cold climate and there are 7 or 8 exactly like what I'm describing in my neighbourhood." Does it work OK in rain and cold? It only gets to -10 C here so not even that cold, but it seems it would be hard to build the cute ones (like, all the results when Google Image searching 'little library') in a waterproof way. Then again, I'm probably overthinking it and getting stuck in analysis paralysis like I usually do...
killjoywashere 8y ago
Well, they have a good site for starters: https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/ We live in Southern California and even we get rain. So using a plan is a good idea simply for the value that they've thought of things like eaves and sills. You need to commit to repainting every year or so, maintaining the caulk, etc. it's the details and maintenance that make it. Ours looks good years on. One in the area is starting to look janky because they were too fancy with their first paint job and now it is in the dire need of paint. Another is just collection of rotten plywood at this point.

by roel_v 8y ago

philistine 8y ago

Go inside your house! Letting the neighbours in your house to grab books. You are the most generous, kindhearted person in the world if you really are thinking of doing it this way. It's a very big bird house on a pole in front of your house, just in front of the sidewalk. It's got a door with a window on it, so people can see the books. I live in a region with a cold climate and there are 7 or 8 exactly like what I'm describing in my neighbourhood. I don't personally have one but my wife wants to build one in the spring. Doesn't seem to be much of a vandalism magnet when they look so gosh-darn cute.

roel_v 8y ago
"Go inside your house! Letting the neighbours in your house to grab books." Well I was thinking more of a 'we're open Saturday mornings only' kind of deal, I can assure you I am far from the most generous, kindhearted person in the world :) "I live in a region with a cold climate and there are 7 or 8 exactly like what I'm describing in my neighbourhood." Does it work OK in rain and cold? It only gets to -10 C here so not even that cold, but it seems it would be hard to build the cute ones (like, all the results when Google Image searching 'little library') in a waterproof way. Then again, I'm probably overthinking it and getting stuck in analysis paralysis like I usually do...

killjoywashere 8y ago

Well, they have a good site for starters: https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/build/ We live in Southern California and even we get rain. So using a plan is a good idea simply for the value that they've thought of things like eaves and sills. You need to commit to repainting every year or so, maintaining the caulk, etc. it's the details and maintenance that make it. Ours looks good years on. One in the area is starting to look janky because they were too fancy with their first paint job and now it is in the dire need of paint. Another is just collection of rotten plywood at this point.