LAKEWOOD, Ohio — Lakewood residents want to know who's cleaning out their free little libraries and, in one case, who took the whole thing?
Right in front of Vincent O' Keefe's house, he’s made a reading corner to provide a space for book lovers with his free little book library. And residents love it.
“You live lives of others through books. There's a lot of empathy, a lot of awareness, perspectives that you would not have thought of,” said O’Keefe.
“(Kids) get so excited when we pass them, and they always want to stop when we go on out walks to check out the books that are available,” said Colleen Saunier, a mother in Lakewood.
“Sometimes we'd see people out here, like a parent and a child kind of sitting on a bench reading. It was great,” said O’Keefe.
For 5 years, the box was highly visited, but suddenly, his blue and yellow library was gone.
“Overnight, on that Wednesday night, we believe someone took not just the books, but the whole library,” said O'Keefe.
It's not the only book theft in the area. On Facebook, multiple residents posted about their libraries being cleaned out, and dozens commented in disbelief.
Parents and kids want answers. The community has already begun to replenish the empty boxes. For O'Keefe, he hopes for the day his original library will be returned, but for now, he's working on a replacement. He reminds everyone that although the books are gone, the spirit of reading can never be taken away.
“The love of reading and writing will go on, and this is just a blip in the path,” said O’Keefe.
Lakewood police say they are aware of the thefts and are looking into it.
