Penticton’s first publicly located Little Free Library is no more.

The city has confirmed that they had to remove the library after multiple cases of vandalism.

“Vandals did damage it, so it’s currently in Princess Margaret for repairs. Once that’s done, it will be installed at the community centre,” said Shane Mills, the city’s communication manager. There is no timeline yet on when it will be placed at the community centre.

The free-standing book library was unveiled beside city hall in June during a small ceremony.

It was the first free library on public land. There are more than a dozen free libraries located on private property in neighbourhoods across Penticton.

The take-a-book-leave-a-book library was spearheaded by Beyond Words, a local group made up of retired educators.

The Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen provided $500 in funding for the installation, Matheson Creek Farms provided the orchard box that served as the base for the library, Princess Margaret Secondary students assembled the library and the students of Penticton Secondary did a book drive to fill its shelves. The students at Princess Margaret have made around a dozen of little libraries from a variety of other materials, such as used skateboards.

Lievskovsky said there are more libraries available should someone one to put one on their own property.

READ MORE: Penticton welcomes first Little Free Library on public land

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