A former cataloging librarian at the University of Alabama/Tuscaloosa was put on probation January 31 to pay replacement costs for the systematic destruction of more than 5,000 pages in 19th- and early-20th-century journals and books containing artwork of historic value.
Anne Elizabeth Moss, who also had been enrolled as a doctoral student at the UAT School of Library and Information Studies, had pleaded guilty to first-degree felony theft in Tuscaloosa County District Court and was initially sentenced to eight years in the penitentiary January 3. This sentence was reduced to 18 months of custodial probation, during which she will spend weekends in jail and weekdays paying restitution to the university, according to the February 4 Tuscaloosa News.
Dean of Libraries Louis A. Pitschmann said the damage, estimated in excess of $185,000, was first discovered in May 1997 when Moss had access to the library stacks and private space in the library due to her student status. “While some of the stolen property that was sold has been retrieved,” he said, “the damage is irreparable because the perpetrator destroyed entire journals while tearing out or using a razor to extract prints for resale” on the Internet and at a local antique store.
Associate Dean of Libraries for Access Services Anne Edwards told American Libraries that Moss had apparently committed the thefts both as an employee of the library and after 1995 when she quit to go to library school. Edwards said only materials in the open stacks, not special collections, were affected.
Posted February 11, 2002.