Denver Little Free Library Burned by Mysterious Arsonist

Ritualistic book burning has always been a grim aspect of our history — the Nazi book burning in 1933 comes immediately to mind — and yet, even now, this awful method of censorship and oppression persists in the United States and around the globe.

According to The Denver Post, Dan Wisdom awoke earlier this week to the charred remains of his Little Free Library, which formerly occupied the corner of Colorado Boulevard and E. 7th Avenue in Denver, Colorado. Wisdom and his 9-year-old daughter were perplexed by the burning, which was caused by a mysterious arsonist in the middle of the night.

Since its inception in 2009, The Little Free Library has been a charming and effective way to promote literacy and celebrate a universal love for books and storytelling. The concept is a simple exchange: take a book, leave a book. Todd Bol co-founded the nonprofit, which has since expanded to include 30,000 book exchanges around the world.

And yet, somehow, this occurrence in Denver is not the first time a Little Free Library has been targeted for vandalism. Book exchanges in Texas (including Victoria and Dallas) as well as Minneapolis, MN were destroyed by fire recently. It’s a disturbing trend — one can only hope that it won’t gain any more steam.

In Denver, book-loving passerby and residents have already offered to help rebuild and restock the Little Free Library.

Interested in finding a Little Free Library near you, or perhaps creating one? The nonprofit’s website provides all the answers.