Re: Stolen magazines -- 2 messages Stephen D. Clark 12 Oct 1999 14:08 UTC
2 messages: 1)------------------------------- -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Stolen magazines -- Dani Lichtenberg Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:34:39 -0400 From: Ann Lucas <lucasann@cooley.edu> Dani - The setup we use almost guarantees that there will be little or no theft, but you may not want to consider it for a public library. We have all current issues of our journals on reserve, behind the circulation desk. It is very important to us to have a complete volume for binding, so this setup helps protect all the issues. Each issue is tattle taped and barcoded for easy check out; however, no issues are to leave the building. We know this works better than open shelves, because we also have that sort of setup for the few popular titles we subscribe to. Current issues of Time, Newsweek, etc. are no sooner placed in the "Current Awareness" room than they disappear, often never to be seen again. I don't know any easy solutions that would be suitable for a public library. If you did decide to sequester the current issues behind some sort of checkout desk, you could provide several copies of a periodical list scattered around the reading area. Ann Lucas Serials Librarian Cooley Law School Library 2)--------------------------------- -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: Stolen magazines -- Dani Lichtenberg Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:52:50 -0400 From: Lisa Blackwell <LBLACKWELL@CML.LIB.OH.US> We also have periodic theft spurts and it just seems to be a fact of life if you accept the concept of open access to the collection. When we identify a really high-theft item (such as Graphic Arts Monthly or Vibe) we keep the current year behind the desk and hold an ID. We probably have about 2 dozen such titles out of a collection of more than 2,000. We don't keep back issues of any other titles behind the desk. Most of the titles in the collection are either bound or obtained on film after 1 year, which does seem to cut down on theft. Lisa Blackwell, Serials Librarian Columbus Metropolitan Library -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Stolen magazines Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:30:29 -0400 From: Dani Lichtenberg <p005386b@pb.seflin.org> Here's an age old problem that has recently reared its ugly head. We are experiencing a rash of stolen magazines and journals. Our collection is housed on open shelving, with the magazines placed in plastic binders. We just keep the current issues on this shelving, and the older volumes behind the service desk. Just about the time school started back in, we were finding that someone was taking magazines out of the binders and stealing them. Usually they just put the empty binders back on the shelves. There was a flurry of this activity, and then just one or two per week. We have tried to keep ever more vigilant but it is difficult to keep an eye on everything at every moment. We posted a large sign, explaining that this kind of theft was a crime. This slowed things down a bit more. But recently the thefts are on the rise again. Four stolen on Saturday. I would guess that we have had twenty or more issues stolen since the beginning of September. What do other libraries do about this? Particularly public libraries. We don't security strip every issue, and in fact we conducted experiments testing the success of the security strips and found that they do not always trigger the alarm, anyway. Depends on if you have the magazine deep inside a backpack, held low, held high, etc. Beyond posting a "plainclothes" employee in the reading area to watch everyone's every move, I am at a loss on how to combat this problem. Does anyone have any helpful tips? Dani Lichtenberg Serials Supervisor Palm Beach County Library System p005386b@pb.seflin.org