Massachusetts’s Attleboro Public Library received a big surprise when one of its regular patrons returned a copy of T.S. Arthur’s The Young Lady at Home … more than 78 years after it had been checked out.
The man, whose name was not revealed, was reportedly helping a friend clean out his basement when he came across the tome. He recognized the library’s stamp, then noticed its original due date: November 21, 1938. “We were amazed,” said Amy Rhilinger, the library’s assistant director. “I’ve worked here for 15 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Because the library charges $.10 per day for overdue books, the total bill for this dusty read would come to about $2800—but the library isn’t planning to cash in. “We’re not the library police,” Rhilinger said. “We’re not tracking everyone’s things. Everyone returns things a few [days] late, and it’s one thing we joke about here.”
Though it’s rare, the decades-overdue book’s return is not unprecedented. Here are 11 more tardy returns.
1. The Versatile Grain and the Elegant Bean: A Celebration of the World’s Most Healthful Foods by Sheryl and Mel London
YEARS OVERDUE: 21
In 2014, someone anonymously returned this fitness-friendly cookbook, which had been missing since September 24, 1992. The volume published that April, contains over 300 recipes—and it’s probably safe to assume that the culprit had plenty of time to try out every single one of them.
2. The Real Book About Snakes by Jane Sherman
LOANED FROM: The Champaign County Library in Urbana, Ohio
YEARS OVERDUE: 41
Like the previous entry, whoever turned in this musty old field guide declined to reveal his name. But lest anyone question the man’s honesty, he also left the following note: “Sorry I’ve kept this book so long, but I’m a really slow reader! I’ve enclosed my fine of $299.30 (41 years, 2 cents a day). Once again, my apologies!”
3. Days and Deeds: A Book of Verse for Children’s Reading and Speaking compiled by Burton and Elizabeth Stevenson
According to Guinness World Records, the $345.14 fee paid by the borrower of this lyrical compilation stands as the highest library fine ever paid.
4. The Fire of Francis Xavier by Arthur R. McGratty
YEARS OVERDUE: 55
In 2013, this one was discreetly mailed in and the perpetrator was never brought to justice (be on guard, Big Apple bibliophiles).
5. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
LOANED FROM: The Rugby Library in Warwick, England
YEARS OVERDUE: 63
The item found its way home during an eight-day “fines amnesty period,” which shielded the guilty patron from a £4000 penalty. “It’s amazing to think how much the library has changed since that book was taken out in 1950,” said librarian Joanna Girdle.
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
LOANED FROM: The Chicago Public Library in Chicago, Illinois
YEARS OVERDUE: 78
Harlean Hoffman Vision found a rare edition of this novel nestled amongst her late mother’s personal effects and vowed to set things right.“She kept saying, ‘You’re not going to arrest me?’” recalled marketing director Ruth Lednicer, “and we said, ‘No, we’re so happy you brought it back.’”