Get the Thief “Out of the Business”: Diary of a Theft

Abstract

Publishing an article about the theft of manuscript material 19 plus years after the incident poses no threat to anyone. We believe it is valuable, however, to publish an account of this theft, which took place in 1979, in order to inform the archival and library communities of the complexity of and difficulty in pursuing, proving, and prosecuting such matters.

Nineteen years after the fact, we have decided to open our original diary. This decision comes from our outrage at the continued thievery of our documentary heritage from our nation's libraries, archives, and historical societies. If the publication of this . . .