A Redditor shared a post to r/AmITheKaren about confronting a stranger who tried to take almost all the books from her 81-year-old neighbor’s outdoor free library. The Redditor believed the woman was scanning the books to determine how much she could sell them for online, but she is now questioning whether she should have gotten involved after her neighbor seemingly brushed off the incident.
The Redditor began by explaining that her elderly neighbor across the street built a free library box several years ago, filling it with children’s books he purchased at yard sales. She said the library is useful because neighborhood children often stop by on their way to school in the morning.
The library operates under a “Take one, Leave one” policy, allowing children to take a book while leaving another behind for someone else.
However, while the Redditor was outside getting her mail one day, she noticed a woman pull up next to the library with a phone and a bag. According to the Redditor, the woman used her phone to scan the books’ barcodes before putting as many as she could into the bag.
The Redditor believed the woman was scanning the books to determine how much they could sell for online. She confronted the woman and explained that the books were intended for children in the neighborhood and that the library had a “Take one, Leave one” policy.
The woman responded, “It literally says free,” and continued putting books into her bag.
The Man Who Built the Free Library Said People Steal the Books a Few Times Every Year
Realizing the woman was not going to stop, the Redditor told her that the man who built the library was 81 years old and had used his own money to purchase the books. The woman apparently suggested that the Redditor was making too big of a deal over a few books before putting about four books back on the shelf.
She then drove away with the rest.
Upset by what had happened, the Redditor told her neighbor about the incident. She was surprised when he laughed it off and said people took books from the library like this a few times every year.
Even more surprising to the Redditor, the library was full of books again the following morning.
Her husband later told her that the books were free and that she should not have confronted the woman in the first place. However, the Redditor still felt the stranger was wrong to take almost all the books, which she believed were meant for children in the neighborhood.
In reaction to the post, many commenters agreed that she was not at fault for confronting the woman. One commenter said that the woman was completely wrong for driving off with the books, and told the writer to advise her neighbor to block the barcodes.
They wrote, "She was wrong! Maybe suggest to your neighbor that he take a black sharpie to the barcodes so that others wouldn't be unable to do this.
Not the Karen... People who take advantage of other people's generosity are the worst."
Another commenter said that other people with little libraries use "Not for resale" stickers on their books to prevent these incidents,. They wrote, "Some people who have little free libraries have a stamp or stickers made that say "Little Free Library -- this book is not for resale" and put it on the cover and inside the book to try and prevent these scammers who empty the libraries to resell the books."
A separate commenter defended her decision to confront the woman. They wrote, "NTK. The books are put out for children, not so adults can make money off them. You were right to speak up."
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the events described in the post, which are based solely on the Redditor’s account shared on r/AmITheKaren.
