How did he do it?
Blumberg employed a variety of other methods to steal over 23,000 books from libraries of all kinds across the country. He bypassed security systems by picking locks, dropping books out of windows and picking them up later, smuggling books out of the library under a large coat, filling book carts and rolling them out the door, and even climbing through ventilation ducts and elevator shafts to access the sections he desired.
While investigating Blumberg, Sgt. J. Steve Huntsberry from the Washington State University Police department, discovered the methods had used in his thefts. Blumberg would establish himself as a “friend of the library”(Huntsberry, 1991) and breed “familiarity with the library staff members”(Huntsberry, 1991) in order to roam the library halls without garnering suspicion from library staff. Other trials records and accomplice statements showed that Blumberg had opted for a “keys first” to gain entry into libraries and their rare books/archival rooms. In fact, Clark Library members believed that Blumberg had stolen keys, which had given him unlimited access to the library’s entire collection. After his arrest, the FBI found the Clark Library keys in Blumberg’s possession.
Blumberg was also accomplished at picking locks. In one case, he stole and duplicated keys for a door inside Harvard University libraries. He did this by stealing and temporarily replacing the lock, then took the original to a locksmith in Montreal, which allowed him to acquire a copy of the key, Then Blumberg returned and replaced the lock so he could access books, offices, and other secured spaces freely.
He also regularly posed as the University of Minnesota professor of psychology Dr. Matthew McGue. Along the way, Blumberg forged birth certificates, driver’s licenses, and a university identification card with his own picture and Dr. McGue’s name. He used these IDs to be accepted as a university researcher. This gave him access to libraries and books that he otherwise may not have entered so easily.
Sgt. J. Steve Huntsberry believed that Blumberg utilized opportunistic methods, citing Blumberg’s ability to bypass locks and victim institutions without using keys. This was seen at the University of California Riverside where Blumberg was “able to enter a locked room twice in a 20-minute period using dental picks” (Huntsberry, 1991).
Once Blumberg had the books, he would sand off markings identifying their home libraries by removing bookplates and card pockets or cutting off security strips with a blade. One some occasions he would glue false bookplates in the books, mark them with a different fake stamp for other libraries he carried with him, and cut out any stamps or lick bookplates and card pockets off the pages.
Blumberg’s methods were key as they led to revamped security measures at institutions across the United States. They were also critically important during Blumberg’s trial in providing evidence tying Blumberg to his thefts and providing reason to reject the defense’s insanity plea.