AT WHAT COST BOOK SECURITY?: A Case Study

Oklahoma's Metropolitan Library System was recently faced with deciding whether or not to purchase a security system for its 11 libraries. Since existing studies on the effectiveness of security systems in deterring theft and vandalism are contradictory and inconclusive, members of the library staff and Board of Trustees, of which I was a member, gathered local data to determine whether the savings gained by installing a system would justify the investment. Our appraisal left no hope that the results would be worth the expenditure.