He takes a stealthy survey of the area, then seizes and begins dismembering his helpless victim. If you think a scene like this could not happen here, think again. The victims, of course, are books and journals. Mutilation of library materials is a serious problem facing all libraries. Library materials are subject to a range of intentional mutilation.
Some people like to write notes, highlight, or annotate in books they've borrowed.
Others mutilate books to convey a personal message of political, religious, or social belief. Books and journal articles are also cut out because people couldn't be bothered to use the photocopier. Some remove pages because they want to be the only ones in their class able to read that chapter or article. What you can do to help stop the carnage The Biomedical Library must replace an average of 240 articles per year due to damage or deliberate mutilation. Campus-wide, the UCSD Libraries replace more than a thousand pages per month.