BOOK THIEVES RETURN STOLEN LIBRARY BOOKS

Following the arrest of a ring of book thieves in New York who were operating on the University Library and had taken rare books to the amount of $40,000. Library officials report that there has been a noticeable rise in the number of missing books which were secretly returned to the Library.

Although about 10 books a month were returned by pilferers suffering from a guilty conscience, after the detection of the Williams operations, during which over 2500 books were taken from the stacks, there has been an appreciable increase since then which seems to indicate that many feared similar punishment.

Most of those who take books return them to the stacks directly. Others choose to send the stolen volumes through the mail anonymously which is a greater misdemeanor than the original larceny, since the government requires by law that all parcels have return addresses.

The turnstile has proved itself a valuable addition in spite of the slight inconvenience it has caused students. Together with the examples made of thieves, it has been instrumental in stopping over 85 per cent of all losses. It has stopped all deliberate thefts, and prevents the inadvertent student from accidentally removing a volume.