Multnomah, Stung by Losses, Plans Security Review

-- Library Journal, 02/15/2007

The Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR, which generally vies for the top spot in total circulation, has been found to have lost a significant slice of its collection: according to an in-house study, six percent of its 1.7 million items have not been returned after being borrowed, and another six percent are just not in the system. "The numbers are definitely a cause for concern," director Molly Raphael told the Oregonian. The study was prompted after police in 2004 found hundreds of CDs and DVDs stolen, but the library didn't know they were gone—having turned off the security gates in response to false alarms.

While county officials said more oversight was needed, no one was clear on whether Multnomah's record is truly disturbing, since comparable statistics are scarce. "We don't know if we're on the high end, on the low end or pretty much in the middle," circulation head Cindy Gibbon told the newspaper. One change has cut DVD thefts—moving the discs behind a counter. Still, Raphael promised a closer look. The newspaper editorialized: "The county is justifiably proud that its libraries are the most-used in the nation. Yet some of its policies go beyond openness and all but invite abuse. For example, library patrons are 'limited' to 149 CDs or DVDs at any one time. Why should anyone, at any time, be encouraged to walk out of a public library with 149 CDs?"