Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Archives Theft

The New York Times has a story today on a longtime employee at the New York State Archives in Albany who has been charged with stealing and selling rare books and documents from the state’s collections since 2002. He reportedly confessed to taking "more than 300 or 400 items in 2007 alone," selling them on eBay and at trade shows.

David Nishimura makes an interesting point: "eBay has become thieves' best friend and their worst enemy -- not due to any initiative on eBay's part, but rather because how it empowers investigators, official and unofficial."