Stealing from Square book stores is at a minimum this year in spite of the Coop's new self-service system, a survey made yesterday revealed.

Although the Coop text-book annex offers much more of an invitation to the would-be thief, elaborate precautionary methods have kept losses there to approximately the same as in years past.

Phillips and Harvard book stores also report theft figures similar to those of the past, with a spokesman for Phillips quoting three percent as an estimate.

To meet the danger of stealing, the Coop has hired many new staff members--a detective, policemen, several spotters, door watchers, and checkers.

When prospective customers enter the annex, they pass several clerks stationed to guard against the one-way entry being used as an exit. Anyone who slips out faces a policeman alerted by spotters in the Coop's second-story rear windows. While students browse through the open book stacks, a detective scans them carefully until they reach the cash registers, which are also watched by a policeman.

A Coop spokesman also said that the in going door is wired with a burglar alarm to ring when anyone goes out through it.