A neighbor has turned our little free library into a drop-off box for damaged books. Can I clear it out?

The little free library at the end of our block used to hold about thirty books. Now it contains ninety, if you count the ones swollen by rain.

A neighbor began “donating” several boxes at a time this summer. At first I was delighted. Then I opened the door and found old textbooks, puzzle books with every page completed, a water-stained atlas and a stack of paperbacks pushed in sideways so tightly that the shelf bowed.

The library is in my front yard, but it was built by residents before we moved here. I repair the latch, wipe the shelves and add books occasionally. I have never thought of myself as its owner. That is part of why I hesitate to remove someone else’s contributions.

Two weeks ago, I sorted the obviously wet books into recycling and made enough room for the door to close. The next evening, another box appeared beside the post with a note: “Couldn’t fit these inside—please add when there’s space.” There was no name, but my doorbell camera showed a neighbor from around the corner carrying it over.

I walked to her house and thanked her for thinking of the library, then said we can only use books that are clean and fit on the shelves. She replied that people should be allowed to choose for themselves and that throwing books away is wasteful. I did not tell her I had already recycled some. I said I would look through the box.

Now the box is in my garage, where it has become exactly the disposal problem she did not want.

I want to post a small sign: “Please add no more than five clean books at a time. No textbooks, workbooks or damaged items. Remove a few if shelves are full.” That seems reasonable and also slightly ridiculous for a box built around informal sharing.

The alternative is to curate quietly. Keep what fits, recycle what is unusable and donate the rest elsewhere. But doing that repeatedly makes me the unpaid sorter for a neighbor who has decided all printed material belongs in one tiny cabinet.

Would you put up clear donation limits, return the remaining box to her, or accept that maintaining the library includes editing what goes inside? I want it to remain welcoming, not become a miniature rule board with books behind it.