Book bandits have stolen hundreds of books from public library
By Hector Molina
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WEST HARTFORD, Connecticut (WFSB) — Book bandits have gotten their hands on several items from the West Hartford Public Library.
Library officials say these thefts have been ongoing since June.
“Our resources are free and open to the public. For someone to come in, to not follow the procedure, to not check them out and just take our books, it’s frustrating and problematic,” said Laura Irmscher, Director, West Hartford Public Library.
Irmscher says hundreds of books have been stolen, each of them ranging from $25-35 in value.
But the thieves are stealing from more than just the library.
“It results in them stealing from the community because we don’t have what we should have to give to people,” Irmscher said.
The missing books in West Hartford tend to be all adult books ranging in different genres.
“We’re searching the shelves and looking in multiple locations to see if they were mis-shelved or taken from the library. So aside from the monetary cost, it’s taking a lot of staff time to deal with it,” said Irmscher.
Thankfully, the library is part of a consortium where they can still find books people need.
“We let them know that we don’t have it at the moment, but we will get it for them,” Irmscher explained.
The ongoing thefts are currently under investigation by the West Hartford Police Department.
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