And yet, the little libraries continue to thrive and exist.
The model works just fine. It's just a free library - a box someone put outside. It contains books, CDs, DVDs, whatever. If you walk by one, stop and peruse it. If you find something you like - you take it.
That's right, you take it. It's a free library - you take what you like, and when you pass by it again, you either return it, or drop off something you don't want.
Many other places have similar as well - they've existed at airports as well - if you see a book you want to read, you take it. If you pass by the airport again, you can return it, or you can drop off what you don't want.
You might think it leads to people just emptying it out, but there's probably someone else looking to get rid of stuff, so they generally stay well stocked.
And that's the whole point, really. If you have a bunch of books you don't want anymore, you can either trash or recycle them, or put them into one of these libraries and see if someone else might want them.
The whole point is people get rid of unwanted books, movies or music, and others might use it to pick up books, movies or music. With no obligations - you don't ever have to return them, or contribute back, or whatever.
In fact, the usual grift for these libraries is they get defaced and destroyed - there are cases where someone sets them on fire. It's usually a sad event, but then someone sets up a new one and it's restocked again.
And hey, if your DVDs walk off, great, you got rid of DVDs you didn't want and someone else got DVDs to watch. That seems to be a net benefit in the end. Better than trashing it and making landfill.