The links listed below provide a context for understanding map thefts
[though most of the information actually relates to books] and the
response to
them. If the organisations involved, with their 'guidelines'
and codes of practice, are sometimes fragmented or overlapping, such an
analysis can help to suggest where further co-ordination is needed.
Local and regional organisations need at least to be linked together
into global networks. Map theft is an international phenomenon
and the response to it must, in
future, be equally global.
Three specific points:-
This page does not deal with details of physical library security or the
exchange of information about suspects (both matters for the
institutions' security officers). Nor does it cover cataloguing practice
(necessary for providing descriptions of stolen items), though see 'Object ID'
Most of the links in the Spreading the News section
relate to books, manuscripts, art, antiques, antiquities - anything
except maps. Nor is information available about the theft of colour
plates from books, or early prints - the two directly comparable types of
material. The intention is to highlight this gap
The links are almost exclusively to English-language sites. Please send
links in other languages, and any other useful additions
Council for the Prevention of Art
Theft (COPAT) (see their 'Code of Due
Diligence for Dealers'; they also publish(ed?) the Crime &
Intelligence Digest) {NB their site - http://www.copat.co.uk -
though widely cited,
does not work at present. Established in the UK in 1992, are they still
operational?}
Libdex: the Library Index (index to 17,800 Libraries, accessible via library name or country
index, featuring "library homepages, web-based OPACs...")
List of National Libraries
(this is automatically brought up via the old link from IFLA, so is presumably an official list)
Repositories
of Primary Sources ("a listing of over 4900 websites describing
holdings of manuscripts, archives, rare books, historical photographs, and
other primary sources for the research scholar" [May 2002]; accessible via
State, Province, Country Index - University of Idaho Library)
World Directory of Map Collections, 4th Edition, compiled and edited by Olivier Loiseaux on behalf
of the Section of Geography and Map Libraries, of the International Federation of Map Libraries (Munich: K G
Saur Verlag, 2001). ISBN 3-598-21818-4. [IFLA Publication No. 92/93]. [Update, February 2012: Saur is now De
Gruyter Saur; this title, described as '2012' can be found here.]
UNITED KINGDOM
British and Irish Committee for Map Information and Catalogue
Systems (BRICMICS) (reports of the twice-yearly meetings are posted to
the lismaps discussion list
and printed in Cartographiti,
the newsletter of the British Cartograhic Society, Map Curators' Group -
met at Aberystwyth on 25 April 2002, with the Antiquarian Booksellers'
Association (International) in a 'Responding to Theft' seminar)
The British Library's
Preservation Advisory Centre (issues a series of Leaflets, on subjects including standards, security and crime)
Society of American
Archivists (the Security Roundtable met at Washington, D.C. in
August 2001 to discuss
the issues arising out of the Gilbert Bland map thefts - no
report online)
[for the various Map lists see Discussion Lists - some of these include
theft reports in their archives]
Archives & Archivists. See their homepage,
with access to the Archives
ExLibris. (You must be a member to post messages and to get access to the Archives, which
include theft announcements)
Museum Security Network Mailing list. See their homepage (must be a member to post messages but their Archives are available since 2003 -
these include theft announcements)
CLOSED LISTS (i.e. restricted to a professional group)
Library Security Officer Electronic List. Send reports to Susan
Allen, Head, Department of Special Collections, UCLA:
sallen@library.ucla.edu
Society of American Archivists. Contact: sfox@archivists.org
< http://www.hfc.org.uk/normal.asp?pageid=200 > Datatag &
Datadot ("a tiny dot type label printed with a unique code that is
linked back to the Datatag database for identification" - Healthcare
Facilities Consortium (HFC))
'Fingerprinting' documents
and packaging ('fingerprinting' the microscopic surface imperfections on almost all (e.g.)
paper documents could provide a unique signature for a single map sheet - a project led by
Russell Cowburn, Imperial College London, described in Nature 28 July 2005, Vol 436)
'ACRL Guidelines Regarding Thefts in Libraries' (Association of [American] College and
Research Libraries, 2001-2002 - 'Section I. Preventing Library Theft'; 'Section II. Reacting to
Library Theft', January 2003)
Guide to Security Considerations and Practices for Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collection
Libraries. Edited by Everett C. Wilkie, Jr. Due for publication in 2012 by the Association of
[American] College and Research Libraries [ACRL]. See here for details.
Lessons from
a Theft (by Robert Lopresti, Government Information Librarian, Western Washington University, 1 August 2011, updated 7
March 2013)
'Library and
Archival Security Resources' (links under the following headings: Publications, Other Resources, Secret Marking
Technology, Addresses for Reporting Thefts, Disaster Preparedness - Rare Books and Manuscripts Section, Association
of College & Research Libraries, a Division of the American Library Association)
'The saying and the doing: the literature and reality of theft
prevention measures in U.S. Archives - Part 1'; 'The saying and the doing
- Part 2: the real world and the future'; Abigail Leab Martin in
Library & Archival Security 15:2 (2000), 27-76, 16:1 (2000),
7-46
Theft Toolkit
(GODORT: Rare & Endangered Government Publications committee, May 2014)
Theft and Loss
from UK Libraries: a National Survey (largely concerned with UK public libraries - by John
Burrows and Diane Cooper; Police Research Group Crime Prevention Unit Series: Paper No. 37
(London: Home Office Police Department, 1992) Library
& Archival Security [Table of Contents since 15:1] Security
Management is a monthly journal, published by Asis in the US
[there appears to be nothing on the site about map thefts]
Archives, libraries and museums see also Collections
International Antiquarian Mapsellers Association (IAMA) (the first international
organisation specifically aimed at the antiquarian map trade, this was set up in summer 2002; contact
details are available through their site). [Note: the organisation was disbanded at the end of 2012]
(While the following could include maps, few do so. They are
included here primarily to underline the need for a comprehensive,
dedicated map theft register)
Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) ('This non-
profit organization will study issues in art crime, and work as consultants on art protection or recovery issues brought to them
by police, governments, museums, places of worship, and other public institutions')
Art Loss Register ("the
world's largest private international database of lost and stolen art,
antiques and collectibles" - NB cookies must be enabled to access the site)
Find Stolen Art
("developed to assist Police Forces, across the United Kingdom, in the
recovery and return of Stolen Antiques and to enable Auction Houses,
Collectors and dealers to comply with the code of Due Diligence", run by
British Reserve Insurance and Criterion Antiques and Fine Art Loss
Adjusters - searching on 'Stolen and Recovered' produced just one,
mis-described map [April 2002])
ILAB Stolen
Books ('The database is open to all ILAB booksellers who may enter details of books {and maps}
stolen {since 15 June 2010} from themselves or their customers. Individuals, librarians and other
booksellers may approach their local ILAB bookseller if they wish to enter any details of books
stolen or if they wish to check if a book is listed' - International League of Antiquarian
Booksellers)
< http://missingmaterials.org/ > MissingMaterials.org ('a blog of rare and unique books and
materials stolen or missing from libraries and archives' - started February 2009 [closing at the end of 2012],
involving OCLC Research, the RLG Partnership and the Security Committees of the RBMS and ABAA; for an
explanation see < http://www.oclc.org/research/activities/missingmaterials/default.htm > Missing
Materials Beta Procedure Project)
'RBMS
Security Committee' (see 'Listings of Missing and Stolen Library Materials', from the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of the
Association of College & Research Libraries - see also under 'Theft Reports' below)
Works of Art (Interpol - a search on 'map' produced three entries
[April 2002])
Theft
Reports (annual theft reports since 1987, from the ACRL/RBMS Security
Committee - taken from the "public media and on open listservs, such as
Exlibris". Notices to Alvan Bregman: abregman@uiuc.edu)
Missing Books and Manuscripts (useful range of international links
from Jonathan Sazonoff, April 2000, including a large
Section 3 'Thefts by Country, and Section 5 'Maps' [links relating to Gilbert Bland])
Museum-Security.org
(a continuing compendium of messages from Jonathan Sazonoff to
Museum Network Security)
