To use the name “Little Free Library” you pay a fee. There are benefits to paying the fee and it helps the non-profit. Not sure if the name is trademarked or not or what happens if you call your free book exchange “Little Free Library” without paying the fee.
> what happens if you call your free book exchange “Little Free Library” without paying the fee
The LFL police come and take it down?
Here's what happens: nothing. You don't get registered in their database, and no one cares. People in the neighborhood, or those who walk by give & take books, exactly as you intended.
Seems like 'unlicensed LFL' would be better than 'pirate'. The latter implying something a bit more sinister. Unlicensed ones still serve the same purpose and are run by volunteers.
No I wasn’t joking, what else would you call my particular lfl? I built my own, stole the name and host it local so that’s kind of where I was going with legitimizing lfls that aren’t in the proper online db. I just felt guilty reading that this morning like whelp, I kind of jacked their idea and gave no accreditation, and I called it a “Little Free Library” to boot. I’m intrigued by lfp now and it seems like keeping those two separated or well defined keeps the mission more clear and focused. Always loving this place, HN is the last corner we can even talk about these things, and I’m blown away so many people in our city are really trying to what we can to improve each other. Cheers!
'unregistered lfl' it has the spirit and purpose of an lfl, but just isn't registered.
Nothing against the LFL organization, we set up an LFL for our neighborhood and did register it. They even sent us a bumper sticker. But there are also lots of unregistered ones around town as well, free exchange of books is the point so it all good.
I’d like all these to be legit/legal - it’d be sweet if we could sponsor others’ LFL, in essence, be able to lookup a pirate location, then license it for those who cannot. I had no idea our lfl needed to be legitimized, but I could see how it makes sense to offer some sort of understanding around where these things are, creating guidelines, ethics around them etc.
We are contemplating adding a solar panel to our lfl to allow passerby’s to charge up their phone for a bit, but that is proving difficult to plan for loitering, safety, etc.
Denver has had a rash of folks taking all the books, wrecking the units this year, but it’s calmed down a bit now that it’s winter. I think the more we get used to seeing and lfl in the wild, the more it becomes something folks expect - maybe switching the colors, adding a something seasonal, might be a way to make them always feel new and exciting. Gloves, masks, snacks, batteries. Stuff that doesn’t matter so much to the operator of lfl, can be life-changing for a passerby. I always feel a dilemma there though, I’m littering the library with lesser materials and potentially taking away from the overall goals to just have books out there.
I’m not sure if you are joking or not but in case you aren’t. The lfl organization doesn’t legitimize them. It sells the kits, gives you a plaque & puts them in an online db.
The people putting them up are responsible for following all the regulations where they place them.
As someone who runs one I’ve never engaged with the official lfl site at all. We do have a problem every once in awhile with people taking all the books but it’s not a major issue. Our biggest concern is people putting what is effectively trash at our library. Broken toys, clothes with major holes, single shoes, magazines with water damage etc.
One of the reasons libraries work so well is that people understand the leave one/take one concept so well with books and people know to take care of them. For consumable items and other durable goods (like clothes) it’s less culturally obvious what to do.
So my advice, start your own little food pantry (or whatever) or barring that, knock on the door of the lfl provider and ask what they want provided? We have a list of local places that take such donations including live fridges and clothing exchange boxes we send people to who want to place items other than books.
I would like to enjoy simple things without turning them into a complex bureaucracy. The idea of a free book swap does not need a ton of legal infrastructure.
