We now have English-language media coverage of the recent map theft from the Spanish National Library: see The Times and The Independent. And we have some more information. The suspect is apparently an Argentine researcher who apparently was authorized by Spain’s ambassador in Argentina (who denies it); at any rate, the thief was no amateur, and knew exactly which valuable maps were worth taking. Police report that another four books had maps torn from them. As well, Rosa Regàs, the Library’s chief, resigned this week, and not quietly either: in a very public squabble, she charged that she was being made a scapegoat in the affair by César Antonio Molina, the country’s culture minister. Via Map History/History of Cartography and Map the Universe.

Previously: Maps Stolen from Spain’s National Library.