I am writing to bring to light an issue that has received little attention: thefts in the libraries. As students, we are expected to make use of the libraries on campus.

Unfortunately, some students seem to consider the library a good place to walk away with any property left unattended for a few minutes. It is not easy to manage heavy bags and carry loads of reference material at the same time.

By default, some of us have to keep our bags on a table so that we can carry the other material. Those few unattended minutes proved a very costly for me on Friday in Pattee Library. I lost my bag with all its contents. When I spoke to the people at the desk, they mentioned that such thefts happen often and more frequently just before breaks. The loss has been devastating to me since I lost so much material that is invaluable to me. At a lot of expense that I can ill afford, I have bought texts and replacement library books. However, the data on my floppies and discs cannot be replaced.

I spoke to friends who could not believe it. Many of them said they believed the library was a safe place and often left things unattended while they were looking for books.

I would like to let others who have similar beliefs know that it is not safe to leave anything unattended even in the library. The thief probably got a few dollars more to spend during Spring Break, but I have lost a semester's work. It is hard to believe that Penn State students do such despicable acts, but they do. I hope my experience will make others more aware and vigilant.