Jump to content

Menu

If you are a bibliophile....this will make you so mad


Recommended Posts

I wonder how many people had requested to look at some of the missing or destroyed works and been told they were not available -- or is it normal for books in Special Collections to go unlooked at for 20 years at a time?

 

I wonder how the library would prevent this happening again. WHen the librarian is the thief --and who wants to buy a map taken out of a book?! That... is the strangest part. That he single plates/maps were worth enough it made sense to leave the book behind to potentially be found.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, vonfirmath said:

I wonder how many people had requested to look at some of the missing or destroyed works and been told they were not available -- or is it normal for books in Special Collections to go unlooked at for 20 years at a time?

 

I wonder how the library would prevent this happening again. WHen the librarian is the thief --and who wants to buy a map taken out of a book?! That... is the strangest part. That he single plates/maps were worth enough it made sense to leave the book behind to potentially be found.

To the bolded... lots and lots of people,  and for $$$$$$.  There is a nonfiction book each on two notorious map thieves... The Map Thief by Michael Blanding and The Island of Lost Maps by Miles Harvey.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Dobby's Sock said:

They're fun 🙂  I have several maps on my walls from the 1700-1800s and would gladly take more if I had the money.

To the first part - who doesn't do an audit for 20 years???  That was really irresponsible of the Library.  

And I am appalled at the light sentences.

Who doesn't do an audit for 20 years? The librarian that knows it will turn up his own theft.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The entire scenario is so hard to fathom. As someone who sees these items as treasures, I cant fathom the psyche of the man who destroyed them page by page. I'm beyond appalled that all those irreplaceable historical books only resulted in house arrest and probation. 

I also wonder how his kids feel. Imagine knowing your education came at the destruction of irreplaceable historical books that your parent was supposed to be protecting.  

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

At our special collections library, the setup for security sounds much the same. There are more stringent requirements at other libraries but overall its pretty typical from my limited experience. 

I've never been told flippantly that something is not available; when something is requested that they can't show currently (it's on display, it's being repaired, someone more important has it reserved, etc) it's on a list. So yeah, it'd be odd to me to be told "you can't see that particular book/map" without also being told when it'll be available again (even if it's 6 months away).

The one time a book I requested couldn't be found (coincidentally the book that my "M" photo is from) they started a small manhunt. 4 staff members went down together to the archives to look for it after the first 2 people couldn't find it. One eventually came up to tell us it wasn't found yet but they will keep looking (we had a list of books so we just moved down to something else). They did eventually find it 2 hours later, misfiled in "N" instead of "J" and also on an oversize shelf and not in the regular stacks. But they didn't take its temporary loss lightly at all. 

I feel weirdly grieving for these books that were so mistreated by the person they were entrusted to. It's a break of the trust that we have to a librarian that is supposed to preserve our heritage for future generations, especially when it's a public collection. Especially by a librarian. I could better understand someone who saw the monetary opportunity and not fully understand the significance, but a librarian that has made it to those ranks seems somehow worse. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Moonhawk said:

 I feel weirdly grieving for these books that were so mistreated by the person they were entrusted to. It's a break of the trust that we have to a librarian that is supposed to preserve our heritage for future generations, especially when it's a public collection. Especially by a librarian. I could better understand someone who saw the monetary opportunity and not fully understand the significance, but a librarian that has made it to those ranks seems somehow worse. 

This is exactly how I feel. 😞

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...