Following the theft of a number of items a review of security is planned for the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin.
The Chester Beatty Library has instigated a review of security procedures and cataloguing methods following the theft of more than £450,000 worth of materials over the last decade.
The most valuable items taken were Korans dating from the 10th to the 15th century. These were among the £385,000 worth of material handed back to the library after former curator David James sold them to museums around the world. Also returned to the library were Persian paintings from the 15th to the 17th century.
Director of the Chester Beatty Library Dr Michael Ryan is confident that the missing artefacts will be recovered but says that there is no question of buying them back. He said that the Chester Beatty Library would not be funding the return of their own property.
It would be like asking a person whose car was stolen to pay to have it back.
Many of the thefts went undetected for years. In the US, 70 per cent of library thefts are by staff who have the ability to falsify records. The trustees of the Chester Beatty Library plan to streamline the cataloguing process to guard against future theft from the inside. Computers will provide a digital inventory of the collection. However, with a small staff at the library, the task of collating and preparing the database will take time. It is estimated that £70,000 worth of artefacts are yet to be recovered.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 15 January 1993. The reporter is Cathy Milner.
