Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A Little Free Library in front of a Penticton home is up and running again, after being vandalized last weekend.

Owners of the library on Braid Street said the incident took place sometime overnight on Saturday.

"Someone came along and ripped off the little doors and threw the books all over the ground, ripping them up as well," said Allison Howard, who started up the library with her husband Dave Corbeil. "But after it happened we said on Facebook that we would be back and we are."

"We are not like Humpty Dumpty we can be put back together again."

The couple started offering the small library, basically books in a small box in front of their home, about two and a half years ago, because they are great readers and love the idea of sharing books.

"Little Free Libraries were started in the U.S. with the idea of sharing books with people who might not have access to them and just to share recycled books in the neighbourhood," said Howard. "It's a huge movement with more than 50,000 registered worldwide."

People provide books with them being borrowed on an honour system; they can keep the books or pass them on to someone else, they don't necessarily have to be returned.

"We are always happy to get the donations," said Howard. "We have a large amount of books that come and go. Everything from children's to classical literature and books for young adults.

The small library, with a bench nearby to sit and read, has received strong support from the start and even more so after the vandalism.

"We felt really bad after it happened, so on Sunday I posted it on my site and the Penticton Facebook page and the response was overwhelmingly supportive, with people saying they go there all the time," said Howard.

The Little Free Library is at 580 Braid Street.