Big win for GTA’s Little Free Libraries

A popular community-building initiative in the GTA may soon be exempt from a city bylaw thanks to a dispute between two neighbours.

Little Free Libraries are set up in front of homes on city streets and encourage anyone to take a book or give a book for no fee.

George Sherwood, who lives in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue West area, received one of these libraries as a Christmas gift from his three daughters, who thought that their community-minded dad would get joy from it.

“This is George’s Library, it’s a gift from my three daughters at Christmas. It has been really active all summer because we live right across the street from a park,” he said.

But a love of literature took an unexpected turn when her dad received a city bylaw notice to either remove the library from city property or pay a $100 fine.

“It’s been very successful but obviously somebody was unhappy with it because yesterday the city came and they left a notice of violation,” Sherwood explained.

Sherwood said he reached out to both the city councillor and the bylaw office to find out what could be done to fix the issue.

“It might be a simple case of moving it back a bit because I’m not sure where the city property lines begins,” he explained.

He said his daughter took to social media to vent their frustration with the city over the notice of violation.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME, TORONTO??? IS THIS HOW YOU’RE SPENDING MY TAX DOLLARS…BY HARASSING SENIOR CITIZENS WHO ARE TRYING TO SPREAD A LITTLE LITERARY LOVE AROUND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD????” Jennifer Sherwood Hicks said in a post on Facebook.

A neighbour, who asked not to be identified, told CityNews the library causes security concerns.

“First and foremost it’s a security issue because my house is now being visited 24/7 by everybody that I have never seen before,” the neighbour explained.

“I don’t see any purpose to it. If you want to buy a book, go to the library, go to Indigo … everything that’s in that little library is something that nobody wants. It’s just all the crap that everybody wants to dispose of.”

But Coun. Christin Carmichael Greb told CityNews she feels the little libraries are a “community benefit” so she contacted the city about the violation and had the notice rescinded.

She also said that next week she’s planning to put forward a motion to the city to exempt the Little Free Libraries from the existing bylaw that also pertains to newspaper boxes giving strict conditions for placement.

Mayor John Tory added his support, tweeting that he loves the book sharing program.

To find a Little Free Library in your area click here.