Theft and Mutilation of Library Materials

Library Vandalism: Causes And Prevention

“…Cornog and Perper (1992), who have extensively examined the treatment of sex materials in libraries, suggest that convenience and privacy enter into the decision to mutilate materials. Likewise, (Susanna & Matheson, 2000) interviews with public librarians found that they believed one factor influencing vandalism of materials was embarrassment at signing out the materials, which they submit re-emphasizes the importance of librarians remaining non-judgmental. Prasad submits that idleness and selfishness are the primary motivations for mutilation: A sluggard is a problem for librarians.…”

“…There is little statistical information about the costs incurred by libraries in addressing vandalism. Librarians generally believed that it was not worthwhile to keep statistics relating to this area and were unable to estimate the costs associated with vandalism in their libraries (Susanna & Matheson, 2000). Some monetary costs of vandalism are obvious such as the cost of replacement and repairs.…”