Thieving Bastards!

Theft.


Libraries are wrought with theft.


It is my belief that the public at large feel that the library should supply them with:

paper both lined and unlined


pencils


pens


rulers


white-out


construction paper


paperclips


staplers


tape


and on occasion earphones!


I'm not saying that by just asking for these materials constitutes library theft, however there are limits as to what is acceptable. I'm pretty easy going and not going to begrudge someone a paperclip or a staple. However, I once had a man ask for almost all of the aforementioned supplies during a very busy stint at the reference desk one visit at a time. After about the tenth visit I snapped- like a woman pushed to the very edge by chocolate or coffee deprivation - I told that bastard that the SoCal Library was not his personal office supply store and that he needed to come to the library with his own (freakin') supplies. With my branch manager right beside me cheering me on.



We have also had an unbalanced woman who would come in each morning and take every scrap of scratch paper and a few pencils. She would spend all day writing psalms or other biblical messages on said scratch paper then neatly place them onto every parked car in our parking lot. She would also wander into the community college staff offices across the street and eat all of the staff's lunches.

As for serious thieving I believe their are two basic types of library thieves.


Your Basic Thief or YBT: those that steal without checking-out... stealthily placing materials down their pants or other orifices. (Don't Ask)


The Check-Out Thieves


These are our most stolen materials via the Check-Out Method by Check-Out Thieves:


Civil Service Exam Books: There are few libraries who can keep hold of popular civil service exams without making the patron checking out the book fork over a $20 refundable deposit. Why? Why? Whenever people come in looking for a civil service exam the test is invariably next week. So why do they never return them?


Wicca and all things Witchcraft/Occult: People of devout faith like to check out books on witchcraft or the occult and never return them so they don't poison the general populace with pagan ways. They don't recognize the whole freedom of religon part of being an American.


However in the past we have even experienced a rash of DVD artwork thefts. It's so strange who would want dvd artwork?