The review follows the May indictment of Binh Huu Hoang, 19, scheduled for a July 13 trial for allegedly stealing $3,000 worth of CDs and DVDs from the system’s Midland branch, according to the June 11 Portland Oregonian. Reports about Hoang’s case revealed to the public that the library had stopped using its 3M security gates in the three largest branches during the late 1990s, when former library director Ginnie Cooper unplugged the system after repeated false alarms.
While the security gates’ manufacturer recommends installing them no more than three feet apart, library officials explained in a memo to the board of commissioners that the gates had been set wider to accommodate patrons in wheelchairs, which meant turning the sensitivity up so high that the alarm was frequently triggered in error.
For now, Library Director Molly Raphael has asked all 17 branches to keep DVDs and CDs behind checkout counters, while library officials consider additional ways to deter theft, including reactivating the security gates, searching patrons’ bags as they leave, and RFID technology.
Branch library workers defended the decision to keep the gates unplugged, pointing to their high cost as well as the fact that such systems can be intimidating, beep at the wrong times, and aren’t effective at stopping theft, the Oregonian reported June 7. “At some point, I have to say, ’What is my job? And how much time do I want to spend policing people?’” said Carol Parten, a library assistant at the Gregory Heights branch.
Posted June 17, 2005.