The Little Free Library movement is a well-intentioned overture to literate neighborliness. In spite of lacking obvious drawbacks, certain officials argue it should undergo more stringent permitting.
Conor Friedersdorf asks the simple question: why must they pick on the Little Free Library? These freestanding wooden boxes, cozily situated on private property to encourage impromptu book sharing, have drawn the gaze of city regulators. Citing safety statutes, they say Little Free Library owners should go through a rigorous permitting process.
Friedersdorf disagrees: "The power to require permits is the power to prevent something from ever existing. This lovely movement would've never begun or spread if everyone who wanted to build a Little Free Library recognized a need to apply and pay for a permit. Instead they did good and asked permission never."
The article concedes that permitting is necessary in many cases, but questions whether Little Free Libraries could ever be one of them. After all, an urban devil's advocate would be hard-pressed to find someone the libraries actively harm. In the face of crime, pollution, and aging infrastructure, is this fine-toothed regulation a valid use of city resources?
Read the full story: The Danger of Being Neighborly Without a Permit
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