At first, the caretaker wasn't sure what happened when the Little Free Library on Rainbow Drive went missing.
The bright orange cone atop the now empty pole was an indication of its official fate. The label on the cone reads City of Prince George.
Soon Tina Cousins, the longtime volunteer curator of the Little Free Library in her neighbourhood, found a posting on Facebook about where two mini libraries ended up. One has been relocated to Gorse Street, monitored by REAPS and the other went to a private resident on Cranbrook Hill.
The city recently removed the Little Free Library on Rainbow and another at Carrie Jane Gray Park as the Enhance PG program ended in 2017.
A Little Free Library is a cabinet placed in a neighbourhood where people could give and get books to encourage literacy. This idea is a global phenomenon that the City of Prince George has embraced for years.
Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community and sparks creativity by fostering neighbourhood book exchanges around the world, according to its website.
Cousins said she was so disappointed when the Little Free Library disappeared from its Rainbow Drive location.
"This is a strange, convoluted, miscommunication story," Cousins said.
The decision was made in December to take down the cabinet libraries, Cousins said.
The Prince George Public Library had taken over the program when the Enhance PG initiative was dissolved in 2017.
"Nobody knew I was the caretaker so there wasn't any communication," Cousins said. "So I was driving down the street and noticed it was gone, which is a huge disappointment because of its location. I can get another free library built - that is not the issue. The issue is the location of the Little Free Library. The concern from the city from my understanding is it's on city property."
Cousins said she is in talks with the city about the situation because she knows what a valuable service the Little Free Library provides to the people in the neighbourhood.
"I am trying to get them to give us back the location," Cousins said. "I just keep saying to the city 'but, why not? What can we do to get it back in our neighbourhood in that spot because it was valued.' Little Free Libraries connect the community. It wasn't harming anybody. It was a place where a lot of people stopped and it's right across from a school and the seniors' facility. That park is a really busy place and it's in a really good spot where people driving by could stop and not block traffic."
Cousins has already asked a family member to build her another Little Free Library.
"But I don't want to put it back up and then the city take it down," Cousins said. "So I'm trying to work with them and I am asking 'what can we do to make this work?'"
The city responded to the Citizen's request for comment by saying they are communicating with Cousins but the issue is the location is on city property and requires maintenance, which comes at a cost.
"Unfortunately, the city was unaware that there was a volunteer caretaker looking after the Rainbow Park site, and the library was removed and delivered to REAPS without providing notice to the neighbourhood," the statement from the city said. "The city regrets the error and apologizes to anyone who was unpleasantly surprised by this. Once staff were made aware of the error, staff reached out to Ms. Cousins by phone and email. The City is continuing to talk with Ms. Cousins about options for a continued presence of a Little Free Library in the Spruceland neighbourhood."
Cousins has since decorated the pole for spring as she would for the cabinet if it was still there as a sign of hope, she said.
There are several Little Free Libraries in Prince George and Cousins said that's wonderful.
"We were happy with the one we had," Cousins said. "We're disappointed that it's gone."
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