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Theft and Vandalism in Academic Library(S)

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Theft and Vandalism in Academic Library(S) Review Article Library Progress (International). Vol. 37 No.1 2017: P.135-141 Print version ISSN 0970 1052 Online version ISSN 2320 317X DOI 10.5958/2320-317X.2017.00014.9 THEFT AND VANDALISM IN ACADEMIC LIBRARY(S) Sanjeev Dutt Sharma Abstract The most common problem in any academic library is that important pages are either torn or mutilated and books being stolen by its users. Users do not care about the borrowed books and keep underscoring, marking the important points, and dog-earing pages. Sometimes they also tear out the pages or even entire chapters before returning them to the library. This paper deals with the problem of theft and vandalism in academic libraries. The main focus of this paper is on the reasons for theft and vandalism and it also proposes the necessary measures to stop or reduce this problem in the Academic Libraries. Keywords: Library Theft, Library Vandalism, Academic Library, Library Management, Book Theft, Book Theft and Vandalism INTRODUCTION Since the ancient times, India has been a centre of excellence in the field of higher education. Nalanda, Vikramashila and Takshashila were few of the oldest universities in the world and were the most renowned seats of higher learning during their time. Nalanda University was a centre of learning from the fifth century CE to 120 CE. Nalanda flourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries and later under the Harsha, the emperor of Kannauj. The liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age resulted in a period of growth and prosperity until the ninth century. The subsequent centuries were a time of gradual decline, a period during which the tantric developments of Buddhism became most pronounced in Eastern India under the Pala Empire. At its peak, Nalanda University attracted the scholars and students from far off countries i.e. Tibet, China, Korea and Central Asia etc. Nalanda University was destroyed in 1200 CE by Bakhtiyar Khilji and the manuscripts and other reading materials were burnt in the process. India has a glorious past in imparting education and libraries played a very important role in this. At present as a developing nation, it places a large emphasis on higher education. Hence, it has a large number of Colleges and Universities as centers of learning. HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA As per the University Grants Commission’s report, 656 Universities and more than 21000 colleges are imparting higher education to the students in India as on 22nd February, 2017. Out of the 789 Universities, 359 are State Universities (funded by the State Governments), 123 are Deemed Universities (a status of autonomy granted to high-performing institutes), 260 are Author’s Affiliation: Librarian, Hindu College, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007, India. Corresponding Author: Sanjeev Dutt Sharma, Librarian, Hindu College, University of Delhi, Delhi – 110007, India. Email: [email protected] Received on 08.06.2017, Accepted on 16.06.2017 Sanjeev Dutt Sharma / Theft and Vandalism in Academic Library(S) Private Universities (run by the Private Sector) and 47 are Central Universities (funded by Central Government of India) HINDU COLLEGE The Hindu College is recognized as one of the premier academic institutions in India. Hindu College was founded more than a century ago in 1899, by Late Shri Krishan Dass ji Gurwale. It started functioning in a building in Kinari Bazar, Chandni Chowk, Delhi and it was affiliated to the Punjab University, as there was no University of Delhi at the time. University of Delhi was established in 1922 and Hindu College became one of the constituent colleges of University of Delhi. As the college grew, it faced a major crisis due to inadequate infrastructure and in 1902 was shifted to Kashmere Gate, Delhi, thereby enabling it to function there till 1953 when it moved to its present location in the University of Delhi (North Campus). The Hindu College has seen remarkable growth over the years. And, today it is not only one of the oldest institution of India it is also one of the most distinguished graduate and postgraduate co-educational institution in India. It offers a number of courses in the field of Science, Humanities and the Social Science streams. HINDU COLLEGE LIBRARY The history of Hindu College Library is as old as that of the college. In the past 118 years the Hindu College Library has progressed tremendously along with the college. It has a separate building. Its initial membership consisted of 13 students and 5 teachers and now it has shot up to 3500 inclusive of students, teachers and non teaching staff with a collection of more than 100000 volumes. “The book theft is identified as most common crime in libraries and it is increasing by the year” THEFT EXPERIENCES IN HINDU COLLEGE LIBRARY Case One: In the academic session 2002-2003, library staff caught a final year undergraduate male student of Political Science. This case is very special as the student was the topper in previous academic sessions. This came to our notice when a staff member who was deputed at the check point came to me with the student and a book. On a cursory look there was no problem with the book as it was issued properly as per our system, i.e. there was a date stamp on the due date slip and the initials of the circulation staff member were also there. Hence, nothing was wrong with the book, the reason for doubt of the check point staff was that the initials on the due date slip did not match with those of the circulation staff. When we questioned the student about this, he told us about method he had devised to take away books from the library without getting them issued properly. The modus-operandi was to use his own duplicate date stamp and the forged initials of the circulation staff. He put the due date on the due date slip with the duplicate date stamp and forged the initials of the circulation staff on the books he required and in this way he used to take away books from the library. After initial counseling, he confessed his act and declared that he has ten more books of the library procured using the same fraudulent means. When asked why he was doing this, he ~ 136 ~ Library Progress (International)/ Vol. 37 No.1/ January-June 2017 replied that: he needed more books for his studies in comparison to the loan privilege granted by the college library and this was done to facilitate his studies. He apologized for this act and returned all the books which were taken away from the library without getting them issued in the proper manner. This student was later selected in an elite service in India. Case Two: It was a unique case of book theft, as we were finding only the bounded book jackets almost every alternate day on the shelves while shelving the books in physics section of the stack hall while the original books inside them were missing. Staff brought this in my notice about the vandalism in the library. We made a team of two people for that section and instructed them for extra alertness as we wanted to catch the miscreant red handed. This incident took place in the academic session, 2008-2009. We finally caught a First year Post Graduate female student of Physics indulging in this vandalism. This again was a student who had scored more than 70% marks in her semester exams. She was caught red handed by a staff member who was deputed in stack area when she was hiding a book in her clothes. He immediately informed the female staff of the library available at the check point to frisk her properly. When she came to the check point, the staff duly frisked her and found a book in her clothes. After questioning, she admitted her mistake and confessed that she had taken away physics books from the library. Ultimately, she replaced all the eight titles with the latest edition. When asked why she was doing this, her reply was that her financial condition was not very sound still she needed more books for her studies but could not afford to buy all the books from the market. She apologized profusely for this act. Reasons for Book Theft and Vandalism in libraries Cut Throat Competition Every student wants to be placed in a nice job after their studies. India being a developing country with low employment ratio and with burgeoning unemployment problem, every student is locked in a cut-throat competition to prove them-selves to be the best in their studies. Hence sometimes they indulge in such unfair practices as outlined above. Pressure for Academic Success There is a lot of parental pressure and social expectation involved in forcing the students to commit such acts as they think they require more books to perform better in their examinations. Maintaining the Higher Position among the students Students who performed brilliantly in their earlier examinations always want to maintain their performance and hence, require more study materials. This often forces their hand and they commit such acts. Lure of Recognition Toppers are always feted and felicitated by the college which adds to their reputation and respect among the peer-group. This added pressure to perform leads them to commit the acts of theft and vandalism to stay at the top. ~ 137 ~ Sanjeev Dutt Sharma / Theft and Vandalism in Academic Library(S) Financial Problems India is a developing country, the per capita income is not very high and parents are barely able to afford the cost of higher education.
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