Library Floored When Book Returned That Was 84 Years Past Due
For book lovers with shallow pockets, libraries offer the perfect solution. They’re basically all-you-can-read buffets serving up book after book after book.
Oh yeah, and they’re free. As long as you follow the rules and renew or return before the due date, of course.
If you’re like me and have failed to be on time on more than one occasion, you know just how quickly those fines can accrue.
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The fines are there to encourage patrons to return items so they can be available for others. But sometimes books get forgotten or even just plain lost.
This is exactly what happened to a library book from Shreveport, Louisiana. And you’ll never guess how long one book in particular was missing.
Not 1, not 2, but 84 years! That’s over 8 decades! Where had the book been all this time? A Facebook post by Shreve Memorial Library cleared that one up.
“Better late than never, right?” the caption reads. “We had a patron return a book to our Main Branch yesterday that his mother checked out in 1934 when she was 11 years old. “
The book in question is “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters, originally published by William Marion Reedy in 1915.
In more recent years it was republished as a Penguin Classic. The publisher notes Masters’ work as “A literary sensation… [which] earned Edgar Lee Masters comparisons to T. S. Eliot and Walt Whitman.”
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Thankfully, Shreve Memorial Library has a maximum fine of $3, which The Associated Press reported was graciously waived in this circumstance.
One Facebook follower inquired what would become of the 84-year overdue anthology. The library explained in a comment that it has been “decommissioned” because of its current state, and has been nicknamed the “celebrity” because of all the viral attention it’s received.
Other commenters have praised the grandson for returning the book after all this time. One person even linked to a clip from “Seinfeld” called “The Library Cop.”
This clip is hilarious and fits perfectly with the situation. Thank goodness the Shreve Memorial Library is a little more forgiving.
Have you ever had an overdue library book? Most people have, but I doubt anyone could come close to beating the 84-year record. It’s amazing what things will turn up after so many years.
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