Watch Your Books, Your Back

Nothing like a good-old fashioned knife fight between two homeless men at a library. The New York Times follows up on the national trend of the dangers of using your local library, and here's the local info: "In Los Angeles, the police say the Central Public Library has become a magnet for thieves, and that, excluding shoplifting at stores, there were more thefts of personal property at the library last year than any other location in central Los Angeles. “We hope things get better,” said Lt. Paul Vernon, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, noting the difficulty of policing libraries. “The library is a place where people tend to congregate, and from a public and government standpoint, you can’t really restrict people.” If the story sounds familiar, it is. Here's an excerpt from a recent story about library theft from the LA Times. "But the Los Angeles Police Department says the library has earned a dubious distinction: It had more thefts last year of personal property -- excluding shoplifting -- than any location in central Los Angeles." [NYT/LAT]