Library theft

As even a cursory glance can relay, the Herman B Wells Library is quite big. More specifically, the campus libraries taken as a whole "include more than 6 million bound volumes and more than 17 million other materials, including manuscripts, maps, music, microforms and films," according to www.libraries.iub.edu. This represents an enormous collection of knowledge, a tremendous asset to students and faculty as we plow our way through tests, essays and research projects. \nWe're quite lucky. I can attest to the fact that most libraries fall far short of IU's in breadth and depth as well as ease of use.\nThat being said, there is nothing more annoying than not being able to find a book. I am not referring to cases where the book is not among the anointed 23 million. There will always be those who want something either too esoteric or too colloquial for our collections.\nI am talking about something much worse: the missing book.\nThere is nothing more annoying, more stressful and more disheartening than not being able to find a book at the library when everyone is telling you that the book is, in fact, in its rightful place. \nI first learned this was a problem from a friend writing his senior thesis in literature. Browsing through IU's massive collection relating to science fiction pornography, he was unable to find the one book that he needed, despite IUCAT indicating it was there. After searching all the nearby shelves and carts, he asked the library staff to place a search on it; yet several weeks later, the book remains MIA. \nI thought this was merely an isolated incident until I too fell victim, unsuccessfully searching for "Rapture Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America."\nSince then I have encountered several other people who have had similar problems. Books have gone missing, with even the library staff unable to find them. This is not to attack the library, for no doubt with 23 million things to keep organized, a few of them will be misplaced. Gossip, however, leads one to think that not all of the missing materials have been simply misfiled; many claim that library books are often stolen.\nWhy would someone steal a library book? The question cannot be answered definitively, of course, while the perpetrators are unknown. Speculation, however, gives some ideas. Books might be taken to prevent rivals from having them, because they possess exceptional value, or because they are about an embarrassing topic, say, science fiction pornography.\nBut none of these reasons are justifiable, and most seem petty.\nI would like to end this column then, with an obvious request: please don't steal library books. If you have taken something in the past, return it, and do not allow yourself to be tempted in the future. And if you have "Rapture Culture," feel free to contact me personally.