ABSTRACT
The situation regarding library and museum security bears a resemblance to that of library and museum fire prevention measures. The occurrence of great library fires has not, in the opinion of some fire risk specialists, caused the library community to address itself suitably to the fire risk. Security officers can be expected to exhibit all the foibles and crotchets of other people; that is, they are normal members of society. Everyone recognizes the need for security, but security precautions are often tossed aside lightly. The romanticism attending ideas of the elegant thief, along with the lenient manner with which cases of art theft are handled by courts in the United States, complicates the security problems of museums and other public institutions.
