To: ARLIS Libraries: FOR YOUR INTERNAL INFORMATION
From: Bowdoin College Library
Date: December 21, 2005
Re: Attempted theft at Bowdoin Library
We are writing to advise you about an incident at the Bowdoin Library
involving a patron who may have been attempting to steal library
materials. On Monday, we noticed a patron in the stacks acting
suspiciously, and simultaneously found a pile of library materials
hidden behind shelved books in the stacks nearby. The materials were
primarily old maps that had been torn out of turn-of-the-century
government documents, depicting National Parks and other American
territories. We immediately called our Director of Security, Randy
Nichols, who came to the Library and talked to the man. After the man
hurriedly left the Library, Randy contacted the Brunswick Police who
stopped the man for questioning. The man had no library materials on
his person, but his actions and attitude convinced Randy that he was
responsible for tearing out the maps and probably planned to remove the
items he had stashed away. He has now been issued a trespass warning
and will not be permitted on the Bowdoin campus.
The man's name is Laurent A. Beaucage of Brunswick, age 56, 5'11", 170
lbs, gray hair, and hazel eyes. He was neatly dressed and was wearing a
loose-fitting light khaki jacket. The police photograph is at
http://www.bowdoin.edu/~kfattig/beaucage/beaucage.jpg
<http://www.bowdoin.edu/%7Ekfattig/beaucage/beaucage.jpg>
For a couple of weeks we had been finding torn-up pieces of old text
pages in wastebaskets in different areas of our basement stacks, so we
suspected something strange was going on. Yesterday we found the empty
cardboard covers of some of these texts, mixed in with the torn-out
maps. We suspect that the man might have been inserting stolen maps in
the cardboard covers to conceal them. These old items would not have
set off our security alarm.
If you feel nervous about the actions of a patron, or see mysterious
torn-up materials in wastebaskets, trust your instincts! Our valuable
collections are unfortunately vulnerable to mutilation and theft by
people who can make money selling the materials through antique stores,
flea markets, etc.
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