Steal from books to make automaton (5)
I believe the answer is:
robot
'automaton' is the definition.
(I know that automaton can be written as robot)
'steal from books' is the wordplay.
'steal from' becomes 'rob' (I've seen this before).
'books' becomes 'OT' (Old Testament).
'rob'+'ot'='ROBOT'
'to make' is the link.
(Other definitions for robot that I've seen before include "Mechanism that can move like a human" , "Man-made man - man-made machine" , "Programmed machine" , "Automaton or sci-fi creature" , "Factory worker, perhaps" .)