5 ms·
Sometimes people should be able to do nice things without it getting abused, no? In The Netherlands, in the nicer neighborhoods we have something called a ‘buu
by jorvi 5y ago
Sometimes people should be able to do nice things without it getting abused, no?
In The Netherlands, in the nicer neighborhoods we have something called a ‘buurtbieb’ aka a ‘neighborhood libraries’, which is a weatherproof cabinet where people can put surplus books that other people in the neighborhood can borrow.
Of course you could take all the books or use the cabinet to store candy, but why would you?
- jumpkick 5y agoWe have these throughout many neighborhoods in my city in central Florida, USA. We’re a college town so I just assumed it was somehow connected to that. Neat that it’s an international thing!
- dividedbyzero 5y agoMunich, Germany has them as well
- Liquid_Fire 5y agoIn the UK these are commonly set up inside old unused telephone boxes - you can find them in many villages/towns, e.g.: https://nothingintherulebook.com/2018/11/03/british-phone-box-libraries/ https://nothingintherulebook.com/2018/11/03/british-phone-bo...
- neutronicus 5y agoHere in Baltimore, MD, too, although the focus is mostly on kids books
- evandrofisico 5y agoHere in Brazil we have those on bus stops.
- yawz 5y agoGreat to hear these little neighborhood libraries are international. We have them here where I live in Colorado, US.
- Kon-Peki 5y agoIndeed. The zoning code for my town specifically calls them out (as allowed, with no permits necessary).
- theandrewbailey 5y agoCan confirm neighborhood libraries are a thing in Pittsburgh (USA).
- sodapopcan 5y agoWe have them in Toronto, ON. We call them LLLs or Little Lending Libraries. There are actually quite a lot of them.
- coldacid 5y agoWe have them out in the 905s too. I've seen quite a few of them here in Durham Region.
- username923409 5y agoI've also seen many of these at bus stations near Victoria, BC.
- phyzome 5y agoUsually called Little Free Libraries in the US. (The name is a little weird, because regular libraries are also free...)
- DocTomoe 5y agoObligatory "Free as in beer vs. free as in freedom" comment. I have pulled stuff out of small community bookshelves that would never have seen their chance in a "professional-run" public library, both bad and good.
- samatman 5y agoThe word "public" in "public library" is load bearing, you can't replace it with "regular", hence your confusion. Private libraries (mine for example) are not free, as in beer or otherwise.
- elliekelly 5y agoThere are two libraries near me that aren’t free - they charge an annual “membership” fee. One even operates more like an old blockbuster when it comes to newly released books. They charge a daily rental fee! It’s 25¢ a day, I believe.
- db48x 5y agoTrue, though to be fair most people never get to use private libraries. Or they used a library at their University that was technically private, but that gave access to the public as well. Public libraries are ubiquitous and very normal, while private libraries are the exception.
- samatman 5y agoIt's a normal elision, yes, we all picture a public library when we say "library". But "free library" isn't redundant or weird, because "public" is a modifier of library, not a trait. People tend to call their personal library a "book collection" or the like, but it's a library, in just the same way that a Little Free Library is. So most people who read have at least a small private library, whether they think of it in those terms or not.
- Arubis 5y agoThere’s actually coordination around these things: https://littlefreelibrary.org/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/
- boredumb 5y agoIn Puerto Rico there are quite a few of these on the sidewalk and despite the rains they are generally always stocked with books. There are bars on everyone's windows and doors, but books piled up on the street.
- chasd00 5y agothere's one down the street from me but instead of books it has canned food. It says "little free pantry" on it. It must have been around for a while because the neighborhood it's in has long sense been gentrified and is populated with very well-off residents vs the working poor that use to live there.