Librarian as Sleuth

In 2006, Western Washington University librarian Rob Lopresti was involved in the investigation of the theft of 648 pages that were torn from 102 rare books in Western’s Wilson Library.

The investigation lasted two years and crossed state lines, finally ending with the conviction of James L. Brubaker, who was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $23,000 in restitution – most of it to Western.

The Western Front sat down with Lopresti to talk about the thefts. Interview follows here.

The team at Erie Looking Productions interviewed Lopresti for LISTen: An LISNews.org Podcast back in November 2008.