Saturday, August 24, 2013 - 
book theft,Recoveries
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book theft,Recoveries
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Book thefts and recovery: How the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers Use Stolen-book.org
Reporting and retracing stolen
books might to the uninitiated seem like an herculean mission, with vast
edition runs and reproductions it can seem impossible to identify a stolen copy
even if it would re-emerge on the market. However, as with most objects years
of love and use have set their marks also on these once indistinguishable
edition copies and the people involved with the books can often recognize
‘their’ copy at a glance. Here we shall consider the leading stolen book
database stolen-book.org, which works
with the venerable task of reuniting books with their owners.
Stolen-book.org is the largest specialized
stolen book database currently in existence and most dealers and major auction
houses rely on their email alerts in order to keep up with stolen printed
material and manuscripts. There are some smaller,
national lost-book databases but with their limited scope and their haphazard
maintenance they do not pose a considerable competition to stolen-book.org.
Stolen-book.org
was instigated as part of the main ILAB (International
League of Antiquarian Booksellers) website in 2010
when that website was redesigned and the older version of stolen-book was
restructured. This worldwide database covers maps and documents as well as full
books. It builds on information submitted by ILAB affiliates, currently over
1850 members all over the globe. Members can submit information on stolen books
through a private section on the site. A basic template is provided, which
included sections for specifics of binding, ex libris or provenance characteristics. The editor reviews
the submitted forms and frequently updates the database, either daily or
several times a day. Usually an email is issued to all affiliates a few minutes
after a new stolen book posting informing of newly conducted thefts.
Public access to Stolen-book.org is free
access for basic details of stolen goods. However, the bookseller’s section,
which contains more in-depth information, requires a login and is available only
to affiliates.
In addition to bookseller’s loss reports, Stolen-book.org
includes thefts from public libraries and other book and document holding
institutions.
Last November ILAB was invited to the IFLA (International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions)
security conference with the aim to strengthen ties
between institutional libraries and to make librarians realize that the main
motive behind library thefts is to make a monetary profit. Therefore, quick co-operation
and interchange of information between libraries and law-enforcement agencies
through ILAB and stolen-book.org would improve chances of fast returns of
stolen property.
With Special thanks to Gonzalo Fernandez
Pontes, ILAB Security Chair, for supplying
the information about Stolen-book.org.
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