To Catch a Map Thief

Retired librarian Robert Lopresti will present “To Catch a Map Thief” on Wednesday, February 27 at 4:00 p.m. at WWU in the Map Collection, located in Wilson Library Room 290. In 2006, there was a major map theft at Western Washington University. Rob Lopresti will talk about a two-year investigation by Western Libraries personnel that resulted in the conviction of a man who had stolen publications from more than 100 libraries around the country.

Lopresti retired in 2018 after 31 years as a librarian at Western, including eight years as map librarian. He recently won the Lane/Saunders Research Award for his recent nonfiction book, “When Women Didn’t Count: The Chronic Mismeasure and Marginalization of American Women in Federal Statistics,” and is also a prize-winning mystery author.

This talk is offered as part of the Western Libraries Speaking of Maps lectures, designed to highlight the use and value of maps in research, in teaching and learning, and in daily life. For more information about this event, please contact Dennis Matthews, Dennis.Matthews@wwu.edu, 360-650-3272.