Monday, September 14, 2009

Categories of Vandalism & its Definition.

To properly prepare for and prevent vandalism, it is important to consider what acts constitute vandalism. Goldstein suggests that acts of vandalism have in common three central concepts: intentionality, destructiveness and property ownership. In other words, "[v]andalism is an intentional act of destruction or defacement of property not one's own" (Goldstein 22). With respect to mutilated material, Badri Prasad has suggested that "mutilated" refers to any act that makes material unfit for reading, either partially or completely. Utilizing Prasad's definition, mutilation of materials would include such acts as cutting pages, highlighting, underlining, making notes in the margins, and adding materials, such as stickers or letters that are not meant to be part of the material.
A number of authors, including Goldstein and Stanley Cohen, have recognized certain categories of vandalism, many of which are common in libraries. The first category is acquisitive vandalism, which involves acts done to obtain property or money (Goldstein). Examples of acquisitive vandalism that may occur in libraries includes damage to parking meters, public telephones, vending machines, and photocopiers (Lincoln). The second classification of vandalism is tactical vandalism. It includes acts done to accomplish goals other than monetary gain (Cohen), such as graffiti (Lincoln) or the defacement of material by a student to prevent the use of that material by fellow students. The third type of vandalism is ideological vandalism, which are acts done in promotion of a social, political or other cause (Goldstein), such as the placement of KKK stickers within materials in a public library ("KKK"). Often ideological vandalism will be identifiable by the materials targeted (Cornog and Perper). Vindictive vandalism, the fourth category, involves acts to gain revenge (Goldstein). In her review of the literature, Constantia Constantinou found that there were contrary studies as to whether or not hostility towards a library is a significant factor in a vandal's motivation. The fifth category is play vandalism. It includes acts of destruction or disfigurement in the course of play (Goldstein), such as a group of teenagers who decide to play target practice with library windows. The final category of vandalism is malicious vandalism. These acts express rage or frustration (Goldstein). Examples a library might encounter include the clogging of toilets or sinks, setting off fire alarms or sprinkler systems, or urinating in public places (Lincoln). While the above categories have not been extensively tested so as to verify their comprehensiveness and reliability (Goldstein), they may be useful in designing appropriate prevention practices.

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