http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft So to use the English legal definition of the law: "A person is guilty of theft, if he d

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theft So to use the English legal definition of the law: "A person is guilty of theft, if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention of permanently depriving the other of it" I don't see that the student in question was "permanently depriving" the library of the book. (So in this case - using the legal definition - it wasn't stealing)