Makatak
First time out of the vault
I remember when I was playing Fallout 2 I was scoping out Redding, building by building, and taking lots of good loot out of bookshelves, desks, lockers, etc. In some cases, the occupant was standing near or not-so-far-away from the container. I know that NPCs will stop you from looting bookshelves and the like, but only if they are standing very close by.