LIBRARY BOOK RETURNED – 84 YEARS OVERDUE!
CHECKED OUT IN FDRÕS FIRST TERM
BETTER late than never —a
Louisiana man returned a library book that was checked out more than 84 years ago!
The unnamed Shreveport resident discovered the lost treasure — the poetry book “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters — while housecleaning and found its check-out card still inside, stamped with a due date of April 14, 1934! The book had been “out” since Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his first term as president, gas was 10 cents a gallon, and Bonnie and Clyde were robbing banks!
Though the Shreve Memorial Library card carried a male name, the patron believes the volume was borrowed by his mom when she was 11 years old. According to rules listed in the battered book, a five-cent fine was incurred for each day it was overdue — meaning the tardy tome racked up a tab of $1,542.55!
But the library, which still charges the same rate, now caps penalties at $3. However, a spokeswoman said the facility waived the bill for this special case. Librarian Jackie Morales admitted she was “pleasantly surprised” when the book showed up. “We might put it on display because there’s so much interest,” she said, “and to encourage people to return their books.” Though the city’s library system was founded in 1923, Jackie said most long-overdue items returned are two or three years late, making this homecoming one for the record books — and putting it at the top of this week’s Odd List!