What happened at his trial?

In March 1990, Steven Blumberg returned to his home in Ottumwa, Iowa at 1:30 a.m. to find three FBI agents sitting at his dining-room table. He was arrested for stealing more than 23,600 books estimated to be worth several million dollars. 

Blumberg was well known in the rare book and antique community, but his motives and his bibliomania became apparent during the trial. The public viewed Blumberg only as a successful book thief, and were unaware of what he was like aside from his crimes. Blumberg became the subject of many newspaper headlines, for his crimes and his eccentric behavior. At Blumberg’s trial in 1990, many personal details about him came to light from his defense attorney as well as his family. Specifically, his history of mental health struggles became a critical component of his trial. Blumberg’s family history was put under a microscope; Bllumberg’s defense attempted to claim insanity due to bibliomania during the trial, the first attempt to use bibliomania as a legal defense.

Blumberg testified that “he himself was meant to be a custodian of rare books and materials, and more, that he’d never sell the items because he envisioned they would return to their rightful owners after he died” (Jensen). Furthermore, Blumberg’s lawyer argued that he was “driven by a delusional fantasy that forced him to ‘rescue’ books from what he perceived to be their indifferent owners” (shown above) and that he was attempting to save a forgotten world from a system that neglected it and by system, he meant libraries.

The jury ended up declining Blumberg’s insanity plea and found him guilty of four counts of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property. In response, Blumberg filed a lawsuit against the federal judiciary in Polk County District Court. He “referenced God and Jesus Christ and said that federal papers have no foundation” (Omaha World Herald, 1/5/95). 

He was sentenced in July 1991 to 71 months in prison –around 6 years—and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine. Blumberg served four and a half years in a federal penitentiary and was released on December 29, 1995. 

In April 1994, the Omaha World Herald commented on this case, “He was arrested more than once for trespassing in old houses and breaking into libraries’ rare books sections. He is now serving a six-year term in a federal prison in Minnesota. It was an appropriate sentence for a man who has refused to live by society’s rules.” 

Blumberg unsuccessfully requested that his books be given back to him; only those with a clear indication that he had purchased them were returned. No stolen goods were.