The book was returned nearly 90 years after it was borrowed.Photo:Larchmont Public Library
Larchmont Public Library
A book that was nearly 90 years overdue has been returned to a library in suburban New York state.
“Now, I know what you are all thinking,” the library wrote in a post. “I wonder how much that would be in overdue fees? At twenty cents a day, it seems like the fine could easily have reached over $6,400.”
The library added, “But no, the real answer is only $5!”
Since the book was eventually returned, the overdue fine has been reverted back to a maximum of $5, library officials said.
After Morgan found the book, she contacted the library to confirm whether it was overdue, according toPatch.com. She also wrote a letter to the library, explaining its backstory.
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“My stepfather, Jimmie Ellis (James H.S. Ellis, Jr. 1893 - 1978), was an advertising executive, working in New York City and living in Larchmont at the time he and his first wife were raising their two sons,” Morgan wrote, according to Patch.com. “Their house was about two blocks from Larchmont Public Library.”
She continued, “And since Jimmie, a writer and avid reader himself, no doubt encouraged his boys to read, they most likely borrowed books from Larchmont Public on a regular basis.”
Conrad’s book was published in 1925, one year before the library opened, per Patch. It was originally due back at the library on Oct. 11, 1933, the Larchmont Public Library said.
Librarian Caroline Cunningham toldTheNew York Postthat getting the book back was “quite a surprise.”
But, she added, patrons shouldn’t expect to encounter it on the shelves anytime soon.
“That copy’s going to stay out of circulation,” Cunningham told thePost. “And will probably have it just to keep because it’s a funny story.”
source: people.com
