Emma Ruby
Audio By Carbonatix
The social contract is being broken in Oak Cliff.
Over the past few weeks, neighborly Cliff dwellers have woken up to find their Little Free Libraries wiped clean. The whimsical boxes operate on a “take a book, leave a book” honor system, and a tracker app shows that at least 30 boxes are registered in the Oak Cliff neighborhood.
But someone is taking all the books — genre, age group and subject matter notwithstanding — and leaving none, a clear violation of the unspoken understanding we all share when it comes to Little Free Libraries. An army of neighbors have taken to social media to bring attention to this thievery and ask why anyone would target a miniature library, of all things.
One Oak Cliff resident, Sheila Coughlin, posted on Nextdoor on Feb. 2 that her Little Free Library was looted overnight, leaving 45 books missing. In a plea to basic humanity, she requested the taker return a title or two.
“This neighborhood has kept it full of all sorts of books for years. I can’t remember the last time I had to add an additional book to what was there,” wrote Coughlin. “I am not sure why I am so upset about this, but I think it’s because this library was just for everyone, and when someone took all the books then everyone had nothing.”
Coughlin’s post prompted several claims of similar infractions in the neighborhood. Two libraries were emptied out in Kings Highway (they took the dog treats, too!) on Jan. 12, and one was robbed in Sunset Hill on Jan. 11. At the latter library, a home security camera caught a silver pickup truck pulling up to the box in broad daylight. In the video, a young man jumps out of the passenger side and appears to clean off the shelves in less than 20 seconds.
In the Reform Dallas Facebook group, Dallasites were reporting Little Free Libraries left empty as recently as Wednesday morning.
Everyone wants to know: why would someone do this?
The most common speculation is that some errant teen is looking to make a quick buck on the resale market, but anyone who has ever taken a box of novels to Half Price Books knows that payout likely won’t cover lunch. The Observer office’s chosen theory is that a conservative Karen is taking book bans to the next level, ridding her neighborhood of not just the “problematic” volumes, but any book at all.
How motivated by ideological book bans are teen boys like the one who was caught on camera, you ask? Please don’t poke holes in our theory.
And what can be done in regards to this rash of emboldened book bandits? Technically, the contents of a Little Free Library are, as the name suggests, free, which left us questioning whether a crime is being committed during these literary cleanouts.
We called the Dallas Police Department, which almost certainly has better things to be doing than worrying about the Little Libraries of Oak Cliff.
“Is it a crime to steal something if that something is technically free?” We asked, and they laughed and said they’d get back to us.
A number of neighbors have suggested that the libraries be equipped with security cameras so that this pirate can be publicly shamed. Aside from that, though, the legal recourse for this fiendish behavior may not exist.
If you’re looking to get a jump start on your spring cleaning, grab a title or two. We’re sure you have a stack of books you’ve been meaning to read for years collecting dust somewhere, and your neighborhood Little Free Library may be in need of a restock.
