Book Thieves

Why must everything be turned into something speculative of USA commonality?

The US accounts for all books in the public libraries, as any other library would in the world.
It's not considered a "cool" thing among Americans to go pilfering library books.
I've only seen a couple of people mention in other threads about stealing books from the library which I consider to be isolated incidents. Not "trends" among the American people.

Why anyone would be proud of the fact that they're stealing books is beyond me.



[This message has been edited by Xenecor (edited May 15, 2002).]

 

I don't get it either. I volunteer at a library once a week (I need 40 hours community service to graduate high school) and it's a helluva hassle to clean up after thieving bastards. (Please pardon the language, I'm in a pissy mood today)

 

How hard can it be to clean up books that aren't there because they've been stolen?

 

People who steal books are losers in my opinion

I have only stolen books from teachers, then returned them, after seeing if they noticed

Act casual and they never do...

Anyway, what is the point of stealing books from libraries?

 

See, I feel that this is partially in response to my post about how I had to steal Darkwell from my local library. I was once a "thieving bastard", and a "loser". I was a villianous 12 year old.

It wasn't as though I held a dagger to the librarian's throat and demanded it, along with a briefcase full of money, then went on the lam to Mexico or anything.

I took it out, the proper way, claimed to lose it, then paid the fine for having lost it. It was something like $15 for a paperback. I didn't care, because I needed it to finish the trilogy. Plus, I helped the library, because they could order three replacements with my fine money.

You guys are so angry.

 

I have stolen books from my school library when I was in school. Nothing I am proud but at my school they had no alarms on the books or any real control over what happens as they have in bigger libraries.
But I am also one of those people that dont consider it a crime if you dont get caught (misinterpret me right here, some crimes are always a crime but some friendly theft is no biggy)

 

That's sort of the point. Apart from the Library of Congress, it's not as though there's tip-top security at your local public library. (Although there was an uproariously funny article in the Onion about how Cedar Rapids PL was beefing up security after September 11...)

It's a public library. Stealing a book therefrom is a betrayal of the public trust. It's not a crime to steal books from the library.

It's a sin.

I did it once...a copy of Hesse's "Knulp" from the PL in Juneau, Alaska. I walked out of there thinking, 'S**t, that was easy.' It sat on a shelf after I read it for a couple of years, pumping away like Poe's tell-tale heart. I ended up mailing it back with a long letter of apology and a cheque for 50 dollars. (They sent back a thank you note..)

 

I have never heard of someone stealing a book from a library, thats pathetic IMO.

I rarely check out books from the library, prefering to buy them myself, also I have several dollars in library fines.

 

only ever stole a book once... http://www.sorcerers.net/ubb/Forum16/HTML/000106.html i live in the UK

never before, and probably never again. i was 16 and believed that the school library owed me some kind of souvenir for repeatedly shouting at me to be quiet! besides, the book had seen better days and contains unreproducible scribbled annotations (in pencil) on most of the pages.

theft for sentimental reasons!

 

Never stolen from a library book before. It just seems...well, kinda sad really. And pathetic.

Although...when I was in elementary school (way back when), I was absolutely flabergasted one day near the end of the school year. They were announcing various little awards (best attendance record, etc), and my name was announced as the student with the fewest overdue books (I think you also had to have taken out so many books to qualify). Funny thing was that I still had a book in my bedroom at home from near the beginning of the school year (I think it was the Hobbit or something)

BTW - I did return it, but still received the award.

 

Yeah, Damona, but I was trying to read Darkwell too, and with your $15 they bought three copies of the Nancy Drew mysteries.

 

Approximately a dozen claims of book theft in a year and a half is hardly representative of the cumulative millions of people in the US.

Not to mention that there have been people from other countries "coming out" in regards to their thievery. Most of the time it just seems that it is an act being done by dumb teenagers and kids (a large portion of whom frequent these boards).

The fact that "some" people have stolen library books as a kid does not make it a common "fact" of the American Public.

Taluntain, I've been here a long time and I wouldn't have believed you to have made that kind of association before.

 

Heh, noticed something like this too. Just the other week I was talking to a friend who was muttering about a school locking it's doors. This person was going to steal a bookshelf because 'I don't have money for one and nobody in the school uses it anyway' and was mad because of the new locks. And it wasn't even a private discussion, just something said casually. I think it goes without saying the person was american

 

Some friends of mine managed to steal a table from a pub once...

 

I don't *steal* library books, I just don't return them. I had this one book I borrowed for summer reading 4 years ago and when my stack of overdue warnings were larger then the book itself- I actually looked for it and found it in the bookcase (oh my!)And I wonder why the librarians hate me.

 

I didn't say that I thought it was an accusation or a statement. My post was merely to point out how things repeatedly turn into an "American" problem.

The fact that I answered your question in my first post shows that I saw it as a question.... not that I thought it to be an accusation.

I used the word "speculative" for a reason.

My second post was not entirely addressed to you, so ofcourse some of it wouldn't have anything to do with your post. I've reread your posts several times before posting either of my posts.

That was meant for you because I never would have thought you would make that sort of association due to some posts you've read.





[This message has been edited by Xenecor (edited May 16, 2002).]