QUEBEC MEMORY CARDS STOLEN FROM LIBRARY COMPUTERS Memory cards stolen from library computers:

Memory cards stolen from library computers
By Megan Ainscow"

Westmounters know they have a secure, state-of-the-art library at their disposal,

but as the staff found out last weekend, even this venerated institution is not completely safe from theft.

The incident began early last Sunday afternoon when three men in their late teens walked into the library and checked out two DVDs on what later proved to be astolen library card. Then they went to the reference section and sat down at the computers, where the reference librarian told them they had to register in order to use the computers, prompting them to leave the area.

After they left, she discovered that the computers were no longer working. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the memory cards had been removed.

“They looked suspicious when they walked in” library employee Kristina Donald said of the three suspects.

Moments after the suspects left, a library member walked in to tell the employees at the circulation desk that his bag had been stolen from the Westmount YMCA across the street and that his membership card had been in his bag.

Thefts from the Westmount Library are extremely rare.

“This kind of thing never happens,” said library director Ann Moffat.

Station 12 policeman Adalbert Pimentel agreed. “We don’t have many reports from the library,” he said.

However, he warned that residents should be careful to watch their bags and other belongings when in public areas and to hide belongings when parking their cars. He has seen video footage from Metro on Victoria of a woman being asked to help a man read a label while another pick-pocketed her wallet from her purse. Bags getstolen from coffee shops, stores and cars in Westmount on a regular basis. “Don’t make yourself a target of opportunity,” he said.