The OIG investigated the theft of illustrations torn from two Congressional Series Volumes maintained at the Stewart Lee Udall Building, also known as the Main Interior Building, library in Washington, DC. The stolen documents were illustrations of Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan in the mid-19th century that were contained in two separate bound Congressional Series Volumes.
We did not identify any suspects nor could we confirm when the illustrations were removed from the library. When library staff noticed the theft had occurred, the area of the library that housed these historical publications was open to the unescorted public. The library’s policy has since changed, and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) no longer permits unescorted public access in certain areas of the library.