A Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the ’80s

Re:A Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the ’80s by dingaling on Saturday July 22, 2017 @03:06AM (#14825813)

My university's library had 12 floors with a sensor at the ground level at the only non-emergency exit.

However having been built in the 1960s without air conditioning it had top-hinged opening windows. I saw quite a few students over the years simply opening a window on one of the lower floors and dropping a book down to an accomplice standing outside.

The replacement library is entirely air-conditioned with non-opening windows!

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Re:A Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the ’80s by wyclif on Saturday July 22, 2017 @10:34AM (#14827418)

A truly dedicated thief won't be deterred by limited access points. There's always an element of sociopathy in these people, so they won't think twice about doing something like pulling a fire alarm when they're ready to make off with the loot, so that everybody in the building has to get out fast without being scanned.

It doesn't matter at all to them that they've inconvenienced hundreds or even thousands of people in their determination to get what they want, and that is precisely the weakness they exploit in the standard physical security playbook.

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Re:A Rare-Book Thief Who Looted College Libraries in the ’80s by bobsil1 on Saturday July 22, 2017 @09:53AM (#14827208)

Heard of slimy high school debaters doing this at the local college library, to block opponents from getting evidence against their case.

Private prep school kids, sadly.

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