A library book missing for 50 years has finally been returned.
An overdue book borrowed in the early 1970s has reappeared at the Hopewell branch of the Appomattox Regional Library in Hopewell, Virginia, decades after it was due to be returned.
American poet Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass was scheduled to be returned to the library on June 3, 1974.
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“We can estimate that it was checked out two weeks ago, on Monday, May 20th, 1974, the year our library system was founded,” a library representative told Fox News Digital in an email.
One woman told the librarian that she found the book while cleaning out her sister's house and brought it to the library.
Leaves of Grass was loaned out in 1974 and returned to the Hopewell branch of the Appomattox Regional Library 50 years later. (Appomattox Regional Library Hopewell Branch)
“This is without a doubt the most overdue book we've ever returned,” a library representative said.
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“How would we have done it without the old card catalog system of putting reusable return cards in the back pocket of books? [long] Some items have been checked out.”
The library estimates it will cost $1,774 in overdue fees for the book. (Appomattox Regional Library Hopewell Branch)
Hopewell Library no longer charges late fees.
“If we had imposed a 10-cent fine per day, including holiday closures, the book would have added up to about $1,774 in fines. Of course, those fines would have gone uncollected.”
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Prior to this book's return, the oldest overdue book had been checked out in 2009.
“Everyone was happy to have the books returned and we think it was kind of the woman to responsibly return the books after all these years,” a representative for the library told Fox News Digital. (Appomattox Regional Library Hopewell Branch)
The book I borrowed five years ago is a comic book self-help and joke book called “Dilbert's Future: Thriving on Stupidity in the 21st Century.”
“Everyone was happy when the books were returned. I think the woman is a kind person who took the responsibility to return the books after so many years.”
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“Several of our employees were born and raised in the area and enjoyed talking about what the library was like in the '70s, '80s and '90s,” the spokesperson said.
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