[MSN] In an effort to stop the theft and resale of textbooks, Penn State University Police have asked downtown bookstores to begin checking the identification of people who sell back textbooks.

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Posted on Tue, Dec. 12, 2006  
 

Tracking textbook thefts

By Sara Ganim
For the CDT

In an effort to stop the theft and resale of textbooks, Penn State
University Police have asked downtown bookstores to begin checking the
identification of people who sell back textbooks.

This end-of-semester season will be the first that The Student Book Store,
330 E. College Ave., and the Got Used Bookstore, 206 E. College Ave., will
join the Penn State Bookstore in requiring identification from students who
are attempting to sell their books for cash.

University Police Officer Rebecca Berdine said checking the identification
of people who sell back books will help police track down textbook thieves.

She said when textbooks are reported stolen, police will check the
bookstores to see the names of people who have recently sold back similar
books.

Berdine said the new policy is an effort to deter those who might steal
textbooks and immediately take them downtown to anonymously sell them for
some easy cash.

Kathryn Yahner, textbook manager of Got Used Bookstore, said she has
notified police when an individual attempts to sell back a suspicious amount
of books.

Yahner and John Lindo, general manager of The Student Book Store, said they
began checking IDs in September at the request of university police.

"This is standard procedure at most bookstores," Lindo said. "It can't hurt.
It gives us a tracking mechanism," he said.

Penn State Bookstore Assistant Manager Tom Fankhauser said the store always
has checked IDs and will not buy a book from anyone without some form of
identification, in accordance with the policy of store operator Barnes &
Noble.

"We want proof of ID in a cash transaction," Fankhauser said. He added that
the Penn State Bookstore has also alerted police about frequent book
sellers.

In the rush of finals week, Lindo said, it's possible that IDs may not be
checked as diligently as he would like.

But, he said, they are still asking that students who wish to get cash for
their books provide either a student ID or driver's license.

Berdine said the average loss to a student is about $80, and though she
suspects many textbooks are stolen on campus, only 45 textbook thefts were
reported to university police in 2005.

Thirty-four textbook thefts have been reported in 2006, she said.

Berdine said this is part of a bigger effort to curb thefts on campus.

She said there also will be heightened police security in areas where thefts
are most common, such as the HUB-Robeson Center, the libraries and computer
labs.
 
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