How did libraries react to Blumberg?
Blumberg’s crimes had an enormous impact on universities, libraries, and the rare book community.
First, there was the enormous task of returning books and manuscripts to their rightful owners. Second, many institutions altered their security measures in response to his activities. “One of the biggest realizations in the wake of the Blumberg thefts was how little security or guidance for security existed for rare materials, especially in academic collection. Blumberg had been able to sneak into dozens of special collections and archives to build his bounty, and he did so through research of the institutions alongside minimal formal security” (Jensen). Blumberg’s crimes, coupled with advances in technology, spurred the integration of better security, digitization, and inventory regulation.