The crazy things left behind inside our library books
WATERLOO REGION — From cheques to parking tickets, you wouldn’t believe what library staff find in returned books.
“Everything from the mundane to the surprising,” said Alannah d’Ailly, collections manager at the Waterloo Public Library.
In her nearly 19 years at the library, she’s seen and heard of some interesting finds. It’s largely due to the fact that people will use just about anything as a bookmark.
“People will reach for whatever is near by,” said d’Ailly. “I’ve had somebody’s probation papers ... I’ve had somebody’s medical insurance claims (and) I’ve had a tax bill.”
One staff member found a cheque for thousands of dollars, said Anjana Kipfer, the library’s manager of marketing and communications.
There have been birthday cards, an uncooked spaghetti noodle, a marriage certificate, concert tickets, a stiletto from a shoe, a shoehorn, coupons and ticket stubs from events all over the world.
A black sock was once found in a book at the Kitchener Public Library’s main branch.
And at Waterloo’s John M. Harper Branch a sealed box of booze-filled chocolates was left behind in the drop box.
Once in a while, a pet will get its paws or teeth on library property.
One library borrower came in to pay for a book her eight-month-old King Charles Spaniel tore, said Kipfer. Coincidentally, the book was titled “Dogs Behaving Badly: An A-Z Guide to Understanding and Curing Behaviour Problems in Dogs.”
Family photos are also commonly used as a bookmark.
Recently, a panicked patron called
I’ ve had somebody’s probation papers ... I’ ve had somebody’s medical insurance claims (and) I’ ve had a tax bill.”
ALANNAH D’ AILLY
Collections manager, Waterloo Public Library
the library after realizing she left her grandson’s graduation photo inside a book she returned. Staff were able to find the book and get the photo back to her.
“It shows people in their total humanness,” d’Ailly said of the finds. “We’re reading a book and we’re so in the experience and then there’s a point where you have to return it and you may not really look that closely to see what travels with it back to the library.”
Both libraries are also on the receiving end of books that don’t belong to them.
Kitchener’s central library estimates it receives between 10 to 30 of these books per month, said Dale Dyce, library spokesperson. He adds that the number isn’t overwhelming considering patrons of the library borrow more than 2.5 million items a year.
Some of these are personal books, textbooks, or items belonging to other libraries. Both the Kitchener and Waterloo libraries try to get the books to their rightful location.
And if no one claims the personal books, both libraries will consider them donations.