Two laptops left unsecured were reported stolen in Lauinger Library Sunday afternoon, bringing the total number of laptops stolen from students and faculty to six in November alone and 24 so far this semester.

In both cases on Sunday, the students left their laptops unattended in high-traffic areas of the library for less than five minutes and returned to find them missing.

“I was at a cubicle on [floor] two, sitting close to my friends,” theft victim Hannah Klusendorf (COL ’12) said. “It was a crowded area. I assumed that if anyone saw anything suspicious, they would do something to stop it.”

When Klusendorf returned to her cubicle shortly after leaving her laptop and wallet unattended, both were missing and no one had seen anything, she said.

A few minutes later, Erin Galvin (NHS ’14) had a similar experience on the third floor’s Pierce Reading Room.

“Usually I ask someone to watch my stuff because I had heard about all the laptops getting stolen recently,” she said. “But of course, this was the one time I didn’t.”

In Galvin’s case, a Georgetown student nearby witnessed the theft. The suspect sat down at Galvin’s table and opened a library book for a couple of minutes, before taking the laptop and walking out of the library, Galvin said the girl at the next table told her later. The library book he was carrying caused the exit monitor to sound, but by the time the student guard could do anything, the suspect had left the building, according to Galvin.

Of the 24 laptops that have been stolen so far this semester, nine have been computers left unsecured in Lauinger Library. The Department of Public Safety has not yet issued any Public Safety Alerts or other university-wide warning regarding the thefts in the library on Sunday.

“We normally reserve the issuance of a PSA to crimes where there is a threat to the community’s personal well being, such as robberies, burglaries and sexual assaults,” said Joseph Smith, associate director of the Department of Public Safety, in an email.

“We do, however, take the thefts of these laptops seriously and are exploring a number of options for addressing this problem.”

The frequency of laptop thefts occurring in the library has raised concerns about security in the building.

“It’s a 24-hour library in a private university,” Klusendorf said. “Why don’t we have to swipe in there all the time? Why are people allowed in there if they just show an ID?”

According to Lauinger Library policy, the library is not responsible for lost or stolen personal belongings. That responsibility is left to students and other library users.

“We are aware that numerous laptops have been stolen from different places on the campus, as well as from those left unattended in the library from time to time. We post signs throughout the building urging users never to leave their valuables unattended,” said Phyllis Barrow, the library’s director of finance and operations, in an email. “However, we have ourselves seen many instances in which laptops, phones, wallets, purses and other valuables are in plain view with no one nearby.”

Theft victims said that while they wished the library was more secure, the responsibility ultimately rested in their hands.

“Clearly this is my fault,” Klusendorf said. “You shouldn’t leave things unattended. You just never think it’s going to happen to you.”

The Metropolitan Police Department is conducting an ongoing investigation into the thefts.

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