Thursday, April 06, 2006

Library Mischief Maker

In recent months, there has been strange and foolish shelf activity at the Portland Public Library's Burbank branch, by Deering High School on Stevens Avenue. Some disturbed soul has been going into the branch on a regular basis, and taking the time to rearrange books around each given room in a mania of misshelving. This is taking library staff hours of manpower to keep up with. Books are taken a few at a time from various points around the room and systematically reshelved in random spots elsewhere in the room, creating a patchwork of out-of-whack reference material.

More recently, destructive urges have arisen, and mischief is turning to outright vandalism and defacement of property. DVDs are taken from their cases and stowed naked behind upper shelves, out of sight and vulnerable to destruction by scratching from movement of the books on the shelves they are hidden behind. Spines of books have been intentionally destroyed. A whole shelf of Shakespeare was reinserted throughout the entirety of the non-fiction room. What started as whimsical seems to be turning pathological.

Burbank is the city's busiest branch, though not its largest by far. Staff are kept busy at the front desk, and are only able to make cursory patrols throughout the facility, which the bandit is taking full advantage of.

If you are in Burbank and happen to see someone making haste with making waste of the shelf order, please note their description and tell your librarian!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you hear about these eight bodies found in a couple cars in Ontario yesterday? Those were the bastards what were doing this. I popped em for you, because you're my friend.

Michelle Souliere said...

I had no idea the Bandidos were involved. Who knew a gang would be so excited about mis-shelving library books?!!

Dude, now their ghosts are haunting me, either that or you got the wrong guys, because Saturday it was worse than EVER. Grrrr! Tres irritating. I don't often say this, but this person needs some COUNSELING.