Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, November 28, 1993 TAG: 9311280026
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Short
Some libraries are turning to collection agencies.
"We've had people who lost materials in high school and, as adults, go out to refinance their homes and discover their credit report says they owe money to the Schaumburg Public Library," said Jane O'Brien, circulation director at the suburban library.
"They're in shock, but we think it helps people realize the value of the materials," she said. "A library card is just like a charge card."
The library loses an estimated 2 percent of its 500,000 volumes annually. About 1 percent of checked-out books nationwide are never returned, according to the Chicago-based library association.
In an extreme example, police said two people last week confessed to stealing an estimated $75,000 worth of books from Chicago's branch libraries.
Kenneth and Sandra Lanning are charged with felony theft for taking at least 1,650 mostly hardcover books between Oct. 23, 1992, and Oct. 20, 1993, police said.
Lanning would use a false name to apply for a library card at a branch library and walk away with a stack of books - sometimes the maximum 30 at a time, police said. The Lannings then would sell the books at flea markets.
"Their supply line was the Chicago library. Our city provided the inventory," said Detective Jeff Kumorek. Police recovered about 400 books from their St. Francis, Wis., apartment.
by CNB