DVD Thefts Sadden Glen Rock Librarians

The Glen Rock (NJ) Public Library has been hit with a string of thefts from its video collection. More than 25 videos have been removed from their cases and stolen. Librarians say the videos targeted for theft are action-adventure titles.

Since mid-June, the library has lost 29 DVDs to theft, according to Lori Quinn, director of Circulation and Technical Services. The empty DVD cases are being left throughout the library.

“The average price is $22, and it’s really adding up,” Quinn said. The missing videos are mostly action-adventure titles, such as “Blade,” “The Matrix” and “Scarface.” This week the library discovered three more titles missing: “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Tropic Thunder,” and “The Hangover.”

“The genre we’re finding is mostly action or male-dominated, testosterone-driven movies,” Quinn said. Librarians speculated the thefts were likely being perpetrated by a single individual.

“It saddens me that there’s a person who is doing this for whatever reason. It could be extreme boredom, mental illness, or adolescent arrogance – and it’s adolescent whether or not it’s a young person,” Pelcyger said. “To steal from a community, from a family, hurts the people this person sees every day.”