[MSN] Although the case of serial map thief Edward Forbes Smiley III will end this Wednesday in New Haven with his sentencing, it has continued to prompt libraries across the globe to take extra security measures to protect their rare collections.

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Published: Monday, September 18, 2006

Following thefts, libraries stay on guard 
Jack Mirkinson
Staff Reporter

 
Although the case of serial map thief Edward Forbes Smiley III will end this
Wednesday in New Haven with his sentencing, it has continued to prompt
libraries across the globe to take extra security measures to protect their
rare collections. 

An experienced and high-profile map dealer, Smiley raided libraries
worldwide and escaped with 97 maps before being caught in the act at Yale's
Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library last year. Among the pieces taken
from Beinecke was a 1614 map drawn by the founder of Virginia's Jamestown
colony, Captain John Smith, valued at approximately $50,000 according to the
warrant for Smiley's arrest. In an appraisal by private dealer and Beinecke
adviser William Reese '77 immediately following Smiley's arrest, the seven
maps found on his person were valued at approximately $878,000 in total. 

Librarians at major libraries in Cambridge, New York, London and New Haven
said that while they have increased security at their respective
institutions since Smiley's arrest, the damage he did - including the shadow
his exposure has cast on the map-dealing community - cannot be easily
reversed. 

"The general consensus is one of shock and dismay," said Beth Brainard, a
spokeswoman for the Houghton Library at Harvard. 

While librarians declined to discuss the specifics of new security measures,
they said security has been tightened. 

"As a result of looking carefully at our system, we've enhanced the security
measures," said Alice Prochaska, the head librarian at Yale. "But it
wouldn't be security if I told you what they were." 

One institution Smiley did not touch was Princeton. But John Delaney, the
curator of the Historical Map collection at the university, said the thefts
have prompted him to keep more rigorous records. 

"We've been very careful in having maps catalogued in the records with
details on what they actually show, rather than just having them say 'map,'"
he said. 

Catriona Finlayson, an employee at the Map Collection at the British
Library, said in an e-mail that the library is asking for a harsh sentence
for Smiley, who currently faces up to 71 months in federal prison. 

"The British Library will be arguing for what is called upward departure
from the sentencing guidelines in order to ensure that an appropriately long
period of imprisonment is meted out to Smiley to be commensurate with his
crimes and to deter other serial thieves," Finlayson wrote. 

Prochaska said she also hopes Smiley's case will set an example. 

"I think we would all agree with that," she said. "We are all very anxious
that future thieves know that the courts take it extremely seriously." 

Finlayson said the British Library's lawyers have written a legal summary to
the U.S. government, which states that "the harm caused by Smiley transcends
monetary loss. Objects significant to British, American and world heritage
have an intrinsic value beyond the monetary worth set in the commercial
market." 

Prochaska said she agrees completely with this assessment. She said crimes
like those committed by Smiley endanger historical records and the cultural
heritage of the world. 

Brainard said Smiley's actions have forced all librarians to question the
integrity of the people accessing their materials. 

"There has to be a certain amount of trust involved," she said. "When
someone like Smiley breaches that trust it makes it harder for librarians to
do their job. Do you say we'll just digitize everything and miss some of the
richness of dealing with primary sources? Assume you're going to be burned?"


Though Smiley has been caught, there are still maps missing from many
libraries. The British Library is looking for several items, including two
17th-century maps of North America and a 16th-century world map. While
Prochaska said some of Yale's collection has been recovered, she does not
know if the University will ever find all of the stolen maps, including
those taken by thieves other than Smiley. 

"That's a really sad story," she said. 

Smiley, a veteran dealer of rare maps, was initially arrested in 2005 after
authorities found an X-acto knife on the floor of the Beinecke reading room
and connected the dots back to him. Smiley later admitted to stealing maps
from at least six libraries.

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