Library Book Returned 82 Years Late With Note; “Grandma Won’t Be Able to Pay”

A library book checked out in July 1943 was recently returned to the San Antonio Public Library — 82 years overdue. The book, Your Child, His Family, and Friends by Frances Bruce Strain, came with a letter from a person in Oregon who discovered it in their late father’s belongings. The note humorously acknowledged, “Grandma won’t be able to pay for it anymore,” as the borrower had moved to Mexico City for work decades ago. While the book would have incurred up to $16,000 in fines by today’s standards, the library eliminated overdue fees in 2021. The well-preserved copy will be displayed and then sold to benefit the library. Despite the delay, it doesn’t break the world record for overdue returns — that belongs to a book returned after 288 years – borrowed from University of Cambridge in 1668, returned in 1956.

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Source: AP News