2 messages:

1)-------------------------------
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Stolen magazines -- Dani Lichtenberg
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:34:39 -0400
From: Ann Lucas <lucasann@cooley.edu>

Dani -
The setup we use almost guarantees that there will be little or no
theft, but you may not want to consider it for a public library.  We
have all current issues of our journals on reserve, behind the
circulation desk.  It is very important to us to have a complete
volume for binding, so this setup helps protect all the issues.  Each
issue is tattle taped and barcoded for easy check out; however, no
issues are to leave the building.
 We know this works better than open shelves, because we also have
that sort of setup for the few popular titles we subscribe to.
Current issues of Time, Newsweek, etc. are no sooner placed in the
"Current Awareness" room than they disappear, often never to be seen
again.
I don't know any easy solutions that would be suitable for a public
library.  If you did decide to sequester the current issues behind
some sort of checkout desk, you could provide several copies of a
periodical list scattered around the reading area.

Ann Lucas
Serials Librarian
Cooley Law School Library

2)---------------------------------

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Stolen magazines -- Dani Lichtenberg
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 13:52:50 -0400
From: Lisa Blackwell <LBLACKWELL@CML.LIB.OH.US>

We also have periodic theft spurts and it just seems to be a fact of
life if you accept the concept of open access to the collection. When we
identify a really high-theft item (such as Graphic Arts Monthly or Vibe)
we keep the current year behind the desk and hold an ID. We probably
have about 2 dozen such titles out of a collection of more than 2,000.
We don't keep back issues of any other titles behind the desk. Most of
the titles in the collection are either bound or obtained on film after
1 year, which does seem to cut down on theft.
Lisa Blackwell, Serials Librarian
Columbus Metropolitan Library

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Stolen magazines
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1999 12:30:29 -0400
From: Dani Lichtenberg <p005386b@pb.seflin.org>

Here's an age old problem that has recently reared its ugly head.
We
are
experiencing a rash of stolen magazines and journals.  Our collection
is
housed on open shelving, with the magazines placed in plastic
binders.
We just keep the current issues on this shelving, and the older
volumes
behind the service desk.  Just about the time school started back in,
we
were finding that someone was taking magazines out of the binders
and
stealing them.  Usually they just put the empty binders back on the
shelves.  There was a flurry of this activity, and then just one or
two
per week.  We have tried to keep ever more vigilant but it is
difficult
to keep an eye on everything at every moment.  We posted a large
sign,
explaining that this kind of theft was a crime.  This slowed things
down
a bit more.  But recently the thefts are on the rise again.  Four
stolen
on Saturday.  I would guess that we have had twenty or more issues
stolen
since the beginning of September.

What do other libraries do about this?  Particularly public
libraries.
We don't security strip every issue, and in fact we conducted
experiments
testing the success of the security strips and found that they do
not
always trigger the alarm, anyway.  Depends on if you have the
magazine
deep inside a backpack, held low, held high, etc.  Beyond posting a
"plainclothes" employee in the reading area to watch everyone's
every
move, I am at a loss on how to combat this problem.  Does anyone
have
any
helpful tips?

Dani Lichtenberg
Serials Supervisor
Palm Beach County Library System
p005386b@pb.seflin.org