Comments on: Barry Landau and the grim decade of archives theft http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Wed, 22 May 2013 15:58:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: OUPblog » Blog Archive » Barry Landau’s coat pockets http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-310378 OUPblog » Blog Archive » Barry Landau’s coat pockets Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:30:26 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-310378 [...] He teaches a class called “Rare Books, Crime & Punishment.” Read his previous blog posts: “Barry Landau and the grim decade of archives theft” and “The difficulty of insider book [...] [...] He teaches a class called “Rare Books, Crime & Punishment.” Read his previous blog posts: “Barry Landau and the grim decade of archives theft” and “The difficulty of insider book [...]

]]> By: OUPblog » Blog Archive » The difficulty of insider book theft http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-287746 OUPblog » Blog Archive » The difficulty of insider book theft Sat, 18 Aug 2012 07:30:38 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-287746 [...] difficulty of insider book theft permalink read more Posted on Saturday, August 18th, 2012 at 3:30 am [...] [...] difficulty of insider book theft permalink read more Posted on Saturday, August 18th, 2012 at 3:30 am [...]

]]> By: Travis McDade http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-280929 Travis McDade Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:29:56 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-280929 Mr. Lowenherz, Thanks for the info - and funny last line. I've thought a great deal these past years about the demographics of book, map and document thieves and of course you're right: they're not all men. But they are overwhelmingly men, especially in archives. In fact, except for the person you mention, I cannot think of another female thief from this past decade. (I can think of a half-dozen who stole books from special collections, though.) It has been pointed out to me, by the way, that this does not mean women aren't stealing - it just means they're smart enough not to get caught. As for the librarian and archivist tendency to hush-up crimes, that is more and more becoming a thing of the past. Thefts used to be kept quiet as a matter of course; now a cover-up is the exception, I think. In any event, I'm on your side of that one. Full disclosure of what was stolen, particularly from libraries, almost always pays dividends. Best, Travis Mr. Lowenherz,

Thanks for the info – and funny last line. I’ve thought a great deal these past years about the demographics of book, map and document thieves and of course you’re right: they’re not all men. But they are overwhelmingly men, especially in archives. In fact, except for the person you mention, I cannot think of another female thief from this past decade. (I can think of a half-dozen who stole books from special collections, though.) It has been pointed out to me, by the way, that this does not mean women aren’t stealing – it just means they’re smart enough not to get caught.

As for the librarian and archivist tendency to hush-up crimes, that is more and more becoming a thing of the past. Thefts used to be kept quiet as a matter of course; now a cover-up is the exception, I think. In any event, I’m on your side of that one. Full disclosure of what was stolen, particularly from libraries, almost always pays dividends.

Best,

Travis

]]> By: David Lowenherz http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-280824 David Lowenherz Fri, 29 Jun 2012 21:03:50 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-280824 Dear Mr. McDade, Thank you for your excellent and informative article. Two points that might interest you: 1) Not all thieves are men. A number of years ago, Lee Israel and her accomplice, Jack Hock, were arrested (following a sting operation in my office) by the FBI for stealing from a number of libraries and institutions. When the news broke about Landau's arrest in Maryland, I immediately was in contact with the FBI (I was, in fact, the first to do so) as Landau, it turned out, had sold me some stolen letters and documents in recent visits. I think that there is also some responsibility that curators must bear -- it is sometimes the case that they realize that a theft has occurred but some choose not to notify the authorities for fear of embarrassment, losing future gifts, etc. Finally, after visiting Landau in his apartment for the last time, he said to me in parting, "Remember, David, I am the screwer not the screwee..." We'll see how that plays out in prison. Sincerely, David Lowenherz Dear Mr. McDade, Thank you for your excellent and informative article. Two points that might interest you: 1) Not all thieves are men. A number of years ago, Lee Israel and her accomplice, Jack Hock, were arrested (following a sting operation in my office) by the FBI for stealing from a number of libraries and institutions. When the news broke about Landau’s arrest in Maryland, I immediately was in contact with the FBI (I was, in fact, the first to do so) as Landau, it turned out, had sold me some stolen letters and documents in recent visits. I think that there is also some responsibility that curators must bear — it is sometimes the case that they realize that a theft has occurred but some choose not to notify the authorities for fear of embarrassment, losing future gifts, etc. Finally, after visiting Landau in his apartment for the last time, he said to me in parting, “Remember, David, I am the screwer not the screwee…” We’ll see how that plays out in prison.
Sincerely,

David Lowenherz

]]> By: Travis McDade http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-280813 Travis McDade Fri, 29 Jun 2012 19:48:36 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-280813 The Berger thefts were bad - absolutely - but don't fit into the "cultural heritage" crimes I was talking about. I think he deserved time in jail - actually, any kind of punishment at all would have been nice - but, based on federal law, I can see why he didn't get any. The items he stole were of far too recent vintage to qualify as "cultural heritage" under the US Code. I wrote about his thefts a lot at the time he committed them but, strictly speaking, he doesn't belong in the same category as the other guys I mentioned. But I take your point: an archives thief is an archives thief is an archives thief. The Berger thefts were bad – absolutely – but don’t fit into the “cultural heritage” crimes I was talking about. I think he deserved time in jail – actually, any kind of punishment at all would have been nice – but, based on federal law, I can see why he didn’t get any. The items he stole were of far too recent vintage to qualify as “cultural heritage” under the US Code. I wrote about his thefts a lot at the time he committed them but, strictly speaking, he doesn’t belong in the same category as the other guys I mentioned. But I take your point: an archives thief is an archives thief is an archives thief.

]]> By: Heaves to Murgatroyd http://blog.oup.com/2012/06/barry-landau-and-the-grim-decade-of-archives-theft/#comment-280796 Heaves to Murgatroyd Fri, 29 Jun 2012 17:03:19 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=26275#comment-280796 What, no Sandy Berger? Fo shame. What, no Sandy Berger? Fo shame.

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