An op-ed in today’s LA Times by Rachel Shteir uses the Forbes Smiley case to argue that we are now living in a culture of stealing: “Before Smiley’s arrest, he was, to all appearances, a respectable map dealer with a reputation for helping libraries build their collections. But whatever becomes of Smiley the man, the Smiley affair throws into the light a larger, troubling story: We are in the middle of an epidemic of stealing.”

On a technical note, entries about map theft incidents now have their own category.