In early 1988, WSU Library archivists revealed that more than 357 books and 2,500 manuscripts, worth $500,000 total, were missing from the rare artifacts collection. Two years later, the FBI arrested the book thief, Stephen Blumberg, at his home in Iowa and discovered a cache of 16,000 rare books and manuscripts he had stolen from universities all over the country. Officials estimated the value at the time to be between $25 and $35 million. The book thief spent four and a half years in prison and was released on parole despite a WSU librarian and police officer arguing Blumberg would reoffend if released.