Mom, kids build little library and then somebody stole it

Two-and-a-half weeks ago, Tellie Avila and her children spent the better part of a weekend building a little library outside of their Alterra home.

They purchased an old nightstand, stripped it down and transformed it into a sidewalk book swap. It featured two shelves of books, a red roof decorated with an American flag and a glass door on the front. Letters across the shelf read: “Give a book &/or Take a Book.” Decorated with potted plants and a solar light, Avila would regularly wipe down touch points with Lysol to keep patrons safe from COVID.

She posted on Facebook to ask for donations of books, especially for children, and encourage people to come take something to read. She even registered it on LittleFreeLibrary.org, a nonprofit that builds community and expands book access through a global network of little libraries.

Avila, a loan officer who calls herself a book hoarder, said she was surprised by the response to their project.

“Your biggest fear is nobody is going to come,” she said. “I didn’t want to see the kids be disappointed.”

But people did come, and the family delighted in seeing their little library used, counting the visitors they would spot.

Less than two weeks later, the enjoyment turned to disappointment, after all.

Last Saturday afternoon, somebody stole the little library right off her yard.

“My first reaction was sadness and a little bit of anger, but mostly just downright confusion,” Avila said this week. “Who would steal a library?”

For some reason, two cameras on the outside of the house did not catch the theft, said Avila, who reported the crime to police.

Even before the library, which was filled with books for adults and children, was stolen, it had been off to a rough start. A couple of days after it went up, somebody helped themselves to the cactuses and potted plants decorating the concrete blocks making up its base. With the help of neighbors, the greenery was replaced.

Avila and her children – Connor, 7, twins Sean and Sully, 4, and Lily, 2 – worked about 12 hours on the project over two days, making several runs to ACE Hardware in town, where a store employee listened to Avila describe her project, then helped them figure out a list of materials and provided advice. “They are so helpful,” she said.

The kids helped sand and paint the dresser, and then helped with the initial stocking of their library.

The theft caught Avila by surprise, but the silver lining has been reaction from supporters on social media.

“At first, I was so crushed that I did not even want to replace it,” she said. “I posted on Facebook that it was stolen and so many neighbors reached out wanting to help us replace it. That inspired me. There are definitely more good people in our town than bad. I don’t want to let one bad apple ruin it for the rest of the community.”

With encouragement to build back better, the Avilas have had people ask to provide financial help with materials. One woman even offered her contractor husband to help with labor.