Contemplating a life in crime? Well, in terms of graft, the prim world of library management is wide open “ or is it?

On Wednesday, a Saskatoon judge sentenced Bruce David Cameron to two years less a day “ the maximum sentence for a provincial jail “ after he pleaded guilty to defrauding the Wheatland Regional Library.

Cameron’s scheme wasn’t terribly sophisticated, but he was persistent. The Crown alleges he stole $1-million dollars over 14 years, though Cameron has admitted to making off with less than $500,000 “ which he has subsequently payed back.

The court heard Cameron set up a fake company called Desert Rose Books in Carson City, Nev.

A few years ago, other library officials got suspicious and brought in a private investigator, who found the book company address was a law office. The company, which took payments for fake book orders, was registered to an alias for Cameron.

There was no evidence any book was ever shipped.

In other outlaw library news, a Lewiston, Maine, woman faces jail time for refusing to return a children’s sex ed manual she believes to be obscene. (Link thanks to boingboing.)