Democratic Sentinel, Volume 14, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1891 — The Library Thief. [ARTICLE]

The Library Thief.

Of all the contemptibly characters mentioned in the annals 6f crime, about the meanest is the individual Known to the police of almost every city in the world as the library thief. If you have ever visited any of the big circulating libraries of this city you have probably noticed that here* and there through many books entire pages have been either torn or cut out, entirely defacing and spoiling the volume, if the work is’an illustrated one it is the engravings in nine cases out of ten that are missing. That is the handiwork of the thief in question, and every big library in this city has suffered from the depredations of this class of criminals. 1 visited several of the big libraries in this city recently to learn something of the methods of the vaudals, and what, if any, precautions are taken to secure the books against their depredations. Whi.e waiting for the librarian of the Cooper Institute Library my attention was attracted by a tile of old newspapers, and in turning over the pages I came across many instances of the haudiwork of the thieves. When I called the attention of the official to the mutilation and stated my object in calling he said: “Yes, that is the work of the library thieves, and a meaner and more contemptible class I have never heard of. Every library in the city has suffered in the same way, and I am sorry to say that there is absolutely no way of putting an end to the vandalism except by watching every man and woman who take out books, and that, of course, is impossible. Sometimes we catch them, but very seldom, and as the work is done very quickly and generally when no one is watching them.” The clerks at several other libraries corroborated the story above. They also said that a few of the thieves are ever caugnt.— New York Telegram.