The community library at the void deck of Block 216A Boon Lay Avenue will be gone.

This comes a few months after it officially opened in April 2023, when some of its books and shelves were stolen.

The person who runs the library, Hengster Kor, shared on the Facebook group Little Libraries Singapore that he intends to remove everything by the end of the month.

In his post, Kor stated that if the books were not collected, he would dispose of them, along with the shelves.

When prompted in the comment section about the reason behind the closure, Kor attributed it to the complaints he received and the mess children made daily.

"Just don't make sense to maintain the place," he wrote.

Books scattered on the floor, children climbing shelves

In reply to a comment which stated that the community was not doing their part, Kor shared that when parents allow their children to make a mess of the area, the "effort to maintain the place is too much to handle".

He then attached a video of a young boy climbing the shelves.

The library floor was also in a mess, scattered with books.

"It's supposed to be a community effort, but everyone is waiting for me to do the work," he said.

Many netizens in the comments expressed their sadness at the news, with others expressing interest in taking the books.

Bumpy road

In March 2023, Kor received the green light from the town council to set up the library after collecting enough books and shelves.

On Apr. 24, he moved the items to the void deck and meticulously arranged the books by size and genre.

It took him three hours before he called it a day at 8pm.

He planned to continue arranging the books on Apr. 25 but noticed two shelves missing.

The books on the shelves were also gone.

On Apr. 29, the books were reportedly returned to the library, but the shelves were still missing.

Kor shared that he started the library to create common spaces "where the community can come together to foster better relationships".

In June 2023, Kor shared on Facebook about the growth of the library.

The library grew from a corner with some shelves and books to an area with numerous shelves and books of various genres. He even got the town council to install an LED Light switched on 24 hours so the area is always bright for reading.

In the post dated Jun. 20, he said,

"It is heartening and heartwarming to see many parents coming to the library with their children at different times of the day, and also different people helping to keep the area nice and clean, without anyone requesting them to do so."

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Top photos via Hengster Kor/Facebook