15-Month-Old son can’t handle library storytime and I don’t know what to do

My son is generally happy, well-behaved, responsive, and just a delight to be around, really. We get compliments everywhere we go on his good behavior and he does so well in restaurants, shopping, at the library play area, on the playground, in the car, etc. He plays kindly with other children, shares toys, and touches gently. Since I am a SAHM and he does not go to daycare, he spends 24/7 with me, but we try to socialize and do an activity for him every weekday.BUT we can’t ever seem to get through library storytime, or any other parent/child group for that matter. As soon as we get into that setting (and this has been in baby storytime just for toddlers, family storytime for all kids, inside storytime in two different rooms, and outside storytime during the summer) he just seems to get overwhelmed and totally loses focus. He seems to only care about the other families’ belongings and will spend the entire time attempting to steal whatever he can until we leave or he has a meltdown (and then we leave). Although he loves books and reading, he couldn’t care less about the library lady reading a book, and will sort-of participate in the songs. I can’t ever talk to anyone or relax or even a few seconds because he is constantly running around the area, pilfering. He goes into purses, snatches phones and keys, grabs water bottles - anything that he is not normally allowed to have, he goes for. Today he even tried to take the library lady’s iPad over and over again, then her keys on her lanyard, then the books she had out for display on a table, then he tried to rip a bow out of a little girl’s hair! After that he started climbing in all the baby carriers that other mothers had brought, and each time I went to retrieve him he would writhe and start to throw a fit. We always leave early, as we did today, with him crying and writhing in my arms and me feeling completely embarrassed. Once we get to the car he is totally fine again, and I sit and cry out of guilt for being a bad parent.None of the other children, and I mean none of them, are out-of-control the way my son is. They will sometimes toddle around a bit, or maybe try to get something once or twice before stopping, and they all seem to “get” the idea of storytime. We’ve been trying this since he was four months old, but since he started crawling at six months it has just gotten worse and worse. I don’t know what to do to help him learn the skills needed to enjoy this enriching, social activity. Help! via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2N77v4Z