A Middletown man was arrested in Wethersfield, accused of book theft and, according to court documents, is tied to other book theft incidents in central Connecticut.
A Middletown man was arrested in Wethersfield, accused of book theft and, according to court documents, is tied to other book theft incidents in central Connecticut.
Residents in Wethersfield thought the crime was fiction at first.
“It’s really immoral, I just can’t imagine doing that, taking something precious from the library,” MaryAnne Boscarino said.
Wethersfield police arrested 50-year-old Levi Preston for allegedly stealing $5,600 worth of books from the Wethersfield Public Library.
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“It’s like why, you can come to the library, get a library card, take the books out and return them,” another Wethersfield resident said.
In the release from the Wethersfield Police Department, they noted they were assisted by the West Hartford Police Department. Preston was arrested there, as well, for allegedly the same crime.
A warrant application written by the Middletown Police Department accuses Preston of the same crime at their public library, and ties the three together, while noting similar crime at libraries in other parts of central Connecticut.
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“When you steal from your public library, you are stealing from your community,” Scott Jarzombek with the Connecticut Library Association said.
According to the warrant, over the course of years, Preston is alleged to have stolen $2,000 worth of books from the Russell Library in Middletown, and over $16,000 worth of books from the West Hartford Library.
The warrant for his arrest noted the theft in Middletown and West Hartford happened back in 2022 and 2023.
The warrant explains Preston would allegedly scan the books to assess their value on a phone, steal them, and re-sell them online.
“I wouldn’t say this is a pressing issue, but it is something that library directors, staff and professionals have to deal with,” Jarzombek said.
Jarzombek said book theft sometimes happens because people are embarrassed or nervous to check out books on sensitive topics at a small-town library. He understands that, but just asks people to return them.
But, when a book is taken for resale, that’s a different level of frustration.
“We take it personal, we don’t have a ton of money, and we are responsible with our spending, so it comes down to, do we replace these items?” Jarzombek said.
He said typically, they only find out about the theft when someone comes to the desk looking for a specific book. They check their system for its location, the system notes they have it and it isn’t on the shelf.
“I always feel bad when a patron is really excited for that “Dogman” book and we get to the shelf and I have to say I’m sorry… it’s not there,” he said.
The solution, he said, would be to increase security, which is expensive for often strained library budgets. He also doesn’t believe that is necessarily the right solution, because libraries are meant to be safe and welcoming spaces.
“We don’t want a space where a security guard is watching you, or a staff member is hovering over you,” he said.
Residents also don’t know if that’s the best course.
“I’m sure it’s easy to do unfortunately, and they don’t want to put the money into security, they want to put the money into books and programs,” Boscarino said.
The library association did offer some advice related to book theft. If you come across a book for sale that has a stamp with the name of a library, just reach out.
Jarzombek said the library likely won’t want it back because it's already reported missing, but it helps them determine if it was stolen.
