Pretty clear from reading it that no one wanted to admit they’d been stolen on their watch, so they kept up some kind of pretence of it being lost within the library so they wouldn’t be public hounded for being responsible for its loss.
That's all in your head. It's pretty clear that the library was aware that the books were missing, and that they looked for them.
What do you want to happen when unique documents disappear? Call the cops? International press conference? I assure you that professional pride is much more important for these people than being 'hounded' by the public.
While there is a good chance that it was been stolen, it could still turn up . Things can go missing for, literally, centuries in collections that are big enough.
I strongly disagree. They lied to themselves and to the world believing the notebooks have been misplaced and not stolen. The ‘no lie’ approach is clearly a part of the problem.
They kept it quiet when they could have had the whole world on the look out. Who knows how many opportunities were missed to have them found in the meantime.
