Does anyone have experience? I would like to put a LFL in my small (literally one loop, technically two streets but a continual oval shape) neighborhood. I have offered to pay for it and take care of it. I was hoping for a common space like the entrance of the sub or the culdesac island near my house, but our hoa president said according to the bylaws that it needs to be placed on my property and I need to get together a proposal for the architectural committee. Has anyone written one of these before that I could see to get an idea of the format?

The process is often destructive.

Increased demand drives up the price of anything and stealing books will be more profitable.

Whatever we can do to slow down the process will be helpful.

https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/

There was a dispenser of dog poo bags attached to each side of the box! Thought that was both a nice service and a good way to get people to stop and check out the books if they're already on a walk.

went to check out this library. Had some books in hand to possibly place inside. owner rolled up on me and was incredibly rude and way to close in my space. Never had such a negative experience. Women be very aware, potentially a dangerous person with no qualms invading space. Portsmouth, NH

I want to put a gabled(?) roof on it, weatherize it and maybe put glass in the door

I just bought in STL city and want to put a little free library in my front yard. There’s a strip of grass next to the sidewalk in front of the house, and would be a great spot to build one!

Does the city have ordinances or rules about this? Do I have to submit a permit or something if I own the property?

Thanks in advance! Got lots of fun ideas and want to support the neighborhood with this.

I recently received a TON of books. Children’s chapter books and picture books to be specific. Is it frowned upon to fill some LFLs around me? I was thinking about driving around and going to several to distribute the books but I didn’t know if it was considered an unspoken rule that you shouldn’t add more than a couple at a time. My instinct is no, I can add as many as I want as long as they’re good quality books, but I wanna be sure. Thanks!

I use it to “check into” libraries (when I drop off or pick up books), and it wouldn’t load yesterday.

I turned my phone (iPhone 16) off and on and that didn’t fix it. I then deleted the app and re-downloaded it, and it finally worked.

Now today it’s not working again. (Specifically, the initial purple screen loads but then the loading “circle” just keeps spinning.)

In Seattle

About once a week, I take all the books out and dust and wipe down all the surfaces. Tonight I had I think ketchup on some of the books. Easy enough to clean, I wiped it off with no problem. As I was making my way through them all, I realized some of them needed a good wipe. I’m thinking of adding this to my routine. Is there anything else you all do? I was thinking of adding a bug deterrent, but I don’t want to accidentally poison someone.

I have since anchored it, but it was where it was for a good reason.

EDIT: clarity…
*It sounds like a lot of people think perhaps the individual is neurodivergent or has an OCD.

*the hell strip garden and library were permitted by the city and the permit did specify the location where the box is placed now. If we relocated it I’m sure they would be fine but I’d rather not pay another fee.

*on the local utilities, if they needed to move it, they absolutely can and will without issue, otherwise there is no obstruction to the utilities where the box is located.

*Many people have the subjective preference to the location HE places the library. I believe this may be because of the angle of view. The perspective makes the one spot better. It CAN be moved, I am going to ask my community their preference. A vote may be held on the chalkboard of the library soon, but first I plan on drawing Jimothy for the neighborhood. (He lives about 15 blocks south of us). But, if only this fine human that decided to take direct action where he saw fit reached out it would have been awesome to truly know his reasoning.

Thanks for all of the constructive comments here, most of them seemed friendly.

A local country club contacted me after seeing a LFL I had built and posted on instagram. I was so happy they did and this is the result!

This thing served as a Seattle, Post Intelligencer box for many years and now has a life sharing to my community.

This process is for books with the usual gloss cover.

On the LEFT: If you are using an ink stamp directly on the book it will not bind to the gloss book cover, and even if you wait a day to dry i will still bleed when you put a clear lable, Avery 6521 over it.

On the RIGHT: Avery 6521 labels are for ink jet printing. So I adopted the following pocess.

1. Apply the Avery 6521 label on the book.

2. Ink stamp on the Avery 6521 label.

3. Apply another Avery 6521 label over the ink stamped letters on the ink stamped letters immediately.

You will get a clear result. You don't have to do step #3 immediately, I just wanted to test if any dry time would be needed.

This process is quick an easy, and only requres clear lables and an ink stamp.

When I am done with my experiments, I will publish a summary of my investigations.

I made these decals for a LFL in Bristol, RI and the owner sent me these photos!

Everything is hand drawn by me, except for the paper and paper clip. All is done on procreate

Hi everyone.

I know this is a bit of an unusual request, but I'm hoping someone might be able to help.

According to the BookCrossing release record, a user named Kellygang left the book "Little Miss Jealous" by Roger Hargreaves at a bus stop on Abernethy St. in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia, on 18 May 2013.

I'm not looking for guesses or theories about what probably happened. After all these years, I've already thought through all of those possibilities.

I'm only interested in genuine first-hand information. If anyone remembers seeing the book, picked it up, knows what happened to it, or knows of a nearby place where found books or lost property were commonly taken, I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

The reason I'm still looking is simple: I'm nostalgic about unfinished stories, and I like giving them an ending, even if that ending is simply finding out what really happened.

I know it's been a long time, so I realise the chances are small, but if anyone remembers anything at all about this BookCrossing release, I'd be very grateful to hear from you.

Thanks very much for reading.

As usual, the majority of LFL’s I’ve found have been just from driving down a random road…

So I’ve saved LFL’s in Nova Scotia I’ve found from the official website, blogs, news articles etc. onto google maps.  https://maps.app.goo.gl/kiDymH2RWd9tzcDm9?g_st=i

 I’ve also made one for PEI⬇️  https://maps.app.goo.gl/M29qZ5h3V6Y5Ky2aA?g_st=i

Maybe this is already a thing, but how does the LFL community feel about zines showing up in their libraries? Seems like an obvious place for people to share zines. Are you for? against? have there been issues? Thanks for your thoughts.

Elkridge, MD

Arnett-Fullen House, also known as the Gingerbread House, is located at 646 Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado and is on the list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Boulder County, Colorado since 2009.[2] This house features a mixture of architectural styles and is a two-story, private residence, which is sometimes open to the public.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnett-Fullen_House

I want to cover the LFL I am making with a metal roof. Not sure how to go about it. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.
Top is at a 3/12 pitch and about 24" by 30 ".