This is a good idea that some neighborhood puzzlewit wishes to ruin. Naturally, the puzzlewit is able to use the bludgeoning power of the state to further his or her twisted desire.
From a related editorial, also from the L.A. Times:
Crime, homelessness and crumbling infrastructure are still a problem in almost every part of America, but two cities have recently cracked down on one of the country's biggest problems: small community libraries where residents can share books.A fuller story from The Atlantic:
We've constructed communities where one must obtain prior permission from agents of the state before freely sharing books with one's neighbors! And their proposed solution is to get scarce public art funds to pay for the needless layer of bureaucracy being imposed on the thing already being done for free.