Dear Editor, This is really an open letter to the person who has been burglarising ours and many other properties in the Avarua area in the past months (although it’s possible he doesn’t read therefore won’t be seeing this).

However, this information could be of use to other people: keep an eye out for a shiftless character in your neighbourhood who is sporting a fresh injury. Could it be that he was the one who tried to burglarise our building a second time within a month because, whoever it was, caused himself a severe injury and left bloodstains on our veranda and lawn.

In fact, it was so bad that he didn’t even enter the building this time.

But he did do a lot of damage. Our magnificent French doors, installed 60 years ago with the original building, are no more. We’re a non-profit with meagre resources and can barely afford to keep repairing the damage this person commits on our property in order to steal from us.

Tell you what, we’ll just leave the front doors open every weekend from now on so he can come in without breaking anything. It will save us the costs of repairing the damage he causes.

Be warned though Mr Burglar, we no longer keep power tools, money, food or alcohol on our premises and we have not done since the last burglary so it could be a wasted trip.

We do have a lot of books though; you are welcome to them. Take as many as you want and read them. You might learn something, like how to get a job and earn money to get the things you want.

Council, staff and volunteers

Cook Islands Library & Museum Society, Inc

Taputapuatea