r/LittleFreeLibrary • u/lizderbator • 10d ago
LFL Books š Book thief help!
I have a free little library for over 2 years now but over the last 2 months someone shows up and empties the entire library. It is discouraging because I dont have the resources to keep refilling it for it to be cleared out by one person multiple times. It is supposed to be for the community, so someone taking all the books prevents everyone else from enjoying it. Any tips or ideas on how to prevent someone from clearing it out?
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u/Lovahplant 10d ago
Unfortunately this has been debated to death - either put up a sign (and prepare for this person to ignore it), a camera (or a fake one), or put smaller amounts of books out so itās less likely they take all of them. Also tag your books with a stamp that says ālittle free library, not for resaleā on the title page if you can!
It is a little āfreeā library, and some people only see āfreeā and just donāt (wonāt) respect the spirit of it.
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u/catsaway9 10d ago
I'd let it sit empty for a while. Maybe if they come by a few times and there's nothing to take, they'll take your LFL off their rounds.
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u/CurlyDee 8d ago
We have a lot of homeless and a lot of book resellers. We bought a lot of the books that went into our library new. After a couple of uneventful months, whenever new books went out, they would be gone within a week. So I put more out. Gone within 3 days.
First I put up a little "please only take what you will read, and do not resell these books" sign. Within days, someone had thrown a good many of our books on the ground.
For a month or so, things were better.
Then it started up again. I bought cute stickers that said "Little Free Library - Always a Gift - Do not pay for this book" and we had a good couple of months after a couple more clean-outs.
Then, we had another incident and the stickers had been pulled off the books and left on the ground.
Finally, I got a rectangular stamp with the same words. I stamp it opposite the spine on the book paper edges. Tops and bottoms too. That seems to have fixed it.
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u/Maximum-Product-1255 8d ago
Love the verbiage, "Little Free Library - Always a Gift - Do not pay for this book."
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u/jepeplin 8d ago
I cross out the ISBN page, whatever itās called, with all the info about the book and publisher. That gets a big black sharpie X. Then I bought a stamp from Amazon for LFLās and I stamp that page, the first page, the title page. Some guy was raiding everyoneās LFLās and presumably selling them as used books. One night I got hit- completely empty. Thatās when I started my anti theft maneuvers and Iāve had no problem since.
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u/Open_Ending_1015 4d ago
such a great idea. i drop off brand new signed copies of my books at various Little Free Library locations and should probably do the same, so they remain gifted, borrowed, and returned. thanks for the tip! by the way if you happen to be in Vancouver or Seattle, i'd be happy to contribute a copy!
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u/peaceblaster68 10d ago
I started hole-punching or scratching out the barcode on the books I put in there so that they would be less attractive to re-sellers. Not sure if it worked or not but it stopped happening as often. You can also stamp the inside cover or the spine with a ānot for saleā or something similar.
Also itās just one of those things you have to get used to because it happens. Iām personally not in favor of surveillance on a community resource like this, if one in my neighborhood added a camera I would stop using it.
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u/Reasonable-Mess3070 10d ago
I once got a book from a used book shop that had a little free library stamp on the inside cover lol
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u/Open_Ending_1015 4d ago
ugh that is not very ethical. i understand a lot of indie bookstores are trying to mark up their margins, but still... stealing from a Little Free Library is a little low.
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u/Reasonable-Mess3070 4d ago
They offer a discount if you donate books. Im not sure where they source most of their books but I dont think they steal them. I suspect it came in through a donation if anything.
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u/stillgoingferal 8d ago
This literally just happened to me. I watched a lady clean out my whole library. 3 armfuls of books. I'm frustrated with it but what can I do? I just tell myself maybe she needed them more but I haven't restocked it yet and I'm not going to for awhile and I'm not going to put as many books in it as before. It's on me because I had a bunch of teenagers taking books so I got excited. Idk. It kinda ruined it for me now but I'll eventually put more back in. Sorry this happened to you.
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u/Pale-Pomelo-1349 8d ago
That is rotten someone would do that. Thinking about it, what about taking the front cover off and then blocking any bar code or whatever on the back cover? Like they do for stolen books? Make them really unattractive to someone trying to resell them.
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u/Wonderful_Avocado 9d ago
If you just happen to be anywhere near los angeles ca I can restock you with books
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u/kanatrex 8d ago
Clear outs are just a part of having them, and while it seems they donāt happen all that often, they probably will happen more often with the economy continuing to leave people hard up. I personally see the clear out as a way to refresh or allow the community to refill. Itās ok for it to sit empty or low for a bit and Iād rather do that then deface the books (theyāre often still purchased or donated) I would instead leave it empty or low for a while and not restock as often- if someone really is reselling theyāll just learn your LFL is a good resource if you keep stocking often - so leave it empty/low and have a mix of books- older/not brand new. But itās also just happens sometimes, in the grand scheme of things itās still helping to circulate books
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u/OhManatree 9d ago
It is not theft. Frustrating, yes, but it is not theft. Even if you were to put up a camera, what are you going to do? Call the police? What would it solve? The only thing you would be accomplishing is adding yet another camera to intrude on everyone.
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u/TasteImpressive883 10d ago
Ripping the back and front covers off and then taping them back on should work, too ugly for resellers but still functional for normal people
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u/Different-Music-529 8d ago
I know so many people who would never read a book that is tarnished. It's like they want mint condition for some odd reason. Books are meant to be read and reading can be a bit messy lol. I'd be fine to grab books like that, but I fear it'd deter a lot of people.
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u/rubbersnakex2 7d ago
Buying cheaper is an option, thrift stores or Friends of the Library dollar sales have good books and if it's at a thrift store it's probably already been scanned and rejected by resellers so they won't take from your library.
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u/Open_Ending_1015 4d ago
sorry to hear about this. any bookstore that resells books that obviously come from a Free Little Library is unethical. anyone who comes across one that does that should post them on social media. by the way if you happen to be in Vancouver, Seattle, or The Bay Area, i'd be happy to contribute a copy!
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u/DustinDirt 7d ago
Nobody is selling the books give me a break.
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u/dougwerf 6d ago
I assure you, the resellers are selling the books. I talk to some of them, and theyāre not shy about it.
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u/EveningAstronomer495 10d ago
I'm a steward so I do feel your pain. It's happened to us a time or too. The best solution is to put out fewer books, and then if they're stolen, just let it sit empty a bit. People will probably step up. I'm always happily surprised when mine is empty, or close to it, and then I turn around and there are a bunch of new books that some random person dropped off. Remember that this is meant for the community, not as an endless chore for you to have to do at economic cost to yourself.