Clontarf woman’s “illegal book box” sparks community support and council review
“I understand that these rules have been put in place [for] a reason to avoid unsafe or obstructive builds, but in this case I felt like a well-intentioned rule had gone awry. “When such things happen, it is difficult to develop community culture,” he said.
The people of Clontarf rallied around Forbes and his book corner. Letters were written and an online petition was started.
“It was really impressive,” he told this imprint.
“A friend set up a petition and within a few days I had hundreds of messages and signatures from all over the Redcliffe Peninsula. Our local councilor even came to check it out himself and agreed it hadn’t done any damage.”
Messages came from supporters as far away as the UK, the US and even Serbia.
“People really care about the little, joyful things in the community. They want to be a part of something positive. When you give the community a reason to show up, they really do,” Forbes said.
Seven months later, the book nook has begun to improve, although it has been positioned further back from its original location and secured to its fence to comply with council standards. As a result of his wrong moves, Forbes successfully mobilized the very community he was initially trying to foster.
The library has also been rebranded and now has “illegal book box” written on the side.
A council spokesman said: “We are pleased that the library has been moved closer to the fence line as the council has recommended, so that it does not impede access and can continue to be used by the community.”
Following the development, Forbes said he had “made peace with being a reformed outlaw”.
“And our local councilor has also advocated for fact sheets on establishing street libraries in the future so hopefully the next person won’t have to tackle the same issue,” he said.
For Forbes, the biggest surprise to emerge from this fiasco was seeing how much people cared, which he believed triggered a larger discussion about “what kind of communities we want to build.”
His advice to anyone looking to set up a street library in front of their home was simple: “Check your local municipal laws first.”
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