A library book has been returned nearly 82 years after it was borrowed from a Texas library.
The book, Your Child, His Family and Friends, written by marriage and family counselor Francis Bruce Strain, arrived with a letter saying “Grandma can no longer pay for it.”
According to the San Antonio Public Library, the book was checked out in July 1943 and returned in June of this year by someone in Oregon.
“After my father’s recent death, I inherited several boxes of his books,” wrote the author of the letter, posted by the library on Instagram, signing himself with the initials PAAG.
This book served as a guide for parents to help their children build personal relationships.
She was given away when this man's father was 11 years old.
“The book was probably given to me by my grandmother, Maria del Socorro Aldrete Flores (Cortez),” he noted.
That same year, she moved to Mexico City to work at the U.S. Embassy. She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession.
The book received many reviews in various publications at the time.
In June 1943, the Cincinnati Enquirer described it as “a complete guide to a child's personal relationships with his family and the world around him.”
A month later, the New York Times noted that Strain is a psychologist and mother of two “who is known for her wise, sensitive but unsentimental approach to sex education.”
The person who returned the book wrote in a letter: “I hope there will be no late fee because grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore.”
The library's press release said it waived late fees in 2021.
On the inside cover of the book was a warning: the fine for overdue books was three cents a day.
Without taking inflation into account, the fine would be around $900 (£663).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation calculator, three cents in July 1943 is equivalent to 56 cents (41 pence) in today's money.
The total sum will be more than $16,000 (£11,800).
The library noted that the book was in “good condition.”
It will be exhibited in the city's central library throughout August.
It will then be donated to the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library and sold, with proceeds going to the library.
Eight decades may seem like a long time for a library book to be out of date, but it's not a record.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the most overdue library book was returned to Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University in 1956.
It was borrowed in 1668, about 288 years ago.
The fine was not collected.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
