The Peterborough Recreation Department is cleaning up after two vandalism incidents over the weekend.
Vandals damaged a railing at Cunningham Pond and tore up the books in the Little Library at the Adams Playground on Union Street sometime Saturday or Sunday, according to Roland Patten, who is in charge of maintenance at the Peterborough Recreation Department.
No one at the Peterborough Police Department could provide information on the incidents around 3 p.m. Monday. Patten noticed the damage Monday. He saw pages of children’s books torn out and strewn about the playground. Recreation department workers spent the morning picking up the damaged books.
The Little Library, which resembles a mailbox with a glass door, was installed last April, according to Peterborough Town Library Director Corinne Chronopoulos.
“It was a true collaborative effort,” Chronopoulos said.
The materials were donated by the 1833 Society’s David Blake, Margot Close and Alan Wilder assembled the materials in the RiverMead wood shop, the rec department installed it on the playground and Peterborough resident Tina Kriebel painted the library, along with her family.
“It’s too bad,” said Kriebel, who is a board secretary with the 1833 Society, a nonprofit organization that supports the Peterborough Town Library, said. She periodically placed books in the library and just checked the box a few weeks ago. “My suspicion is, it’s just kids that have their own challenges, not exercising the best judgment.”
The box included early-reading books and kids books and it worked on the honor system. Anyone could take a book as long as they eventually returned it. Town library staff would check on the Little Library to re-stock the box and keep the titles fresh, according to Chronopoulos.
“I think people just need to rally around it again,” Kriebel said.
Patten also inspected damaged railings near on a walkway down to the Cunningham Pond beach Monday. He said the railing looked like someone “kicked the daylights out of it.” Patten estimated the damage of the railing at $300 to $400.
Two months ago, the recreation department reported another vandalism incident where Patten believed someone ripped up a patched crack on Adams Playground the basketball court. The resealing of the crack cost $700, according to a post on the Peterborough Recreation Department Facebook page.