Look: Overdue book returned to Texas library after nearly 82 years
The City of San Antonio said the book was checked out in July 1943 and was due back 28 days later, but it didn't find its way back to the library until a package arrived at the facility in June of this year.
The package, mailed from Oregon, contained the library's copy of Your Child, His Family, and Friends, by Frances Bruce Strain.
The accompanying note explained the book had been found among the writer's father's possessions, and had apparently been checked out by the person's grandmother when their father was about 11 years old, just before the family relocated so she could work at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
"She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession," the letter's author wrote.
The letter also expressed the writer's hope that there wouldn't be any late fees for the book, as "grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore."
The person who returned the overdue book won't face any fines, as the library eliminated late fees in 2021.
The book is currently on display in the lobby of San Antonio's Central Library. It will be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library for sale in the Book Cellar used book store at the end of August, the city said.
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Book returned to San Antonio library 82 years after due date: "I hope there is no late fee"
A library book that was checked out in July 1943 was finally returned to the San Antonio Public Library, nearly 82 years late. The book, "Your Child, His Family, and Friends" by Frances Bruce Strain, was due 28 days after it was checked out, the library said. When it was returned in June, it came with a letter, which the library shared on social media Thursday. The writer, identified as P.A.A.G. from Oregon, said they found the book in their father's possessions after he died. "The book must have been borrowed by my Grandmother," the letter reads. In 1943, the writer's father was 11 years old and their grandmother was transferred to Mexico City to work at the U.S. Embassy there. The writer assumes she took the book with her. "I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore," the letter says. While a note inside the book says the fine for "over detention" is 3 cents a day, the San Antonio Public Library stopped charging late fees in 2021. The library estimated the fine would have been nearly $900 if applied. The book, which the library described as a parenting self-help book from the 1940s, is set to be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library for sale at a used book store, the library said.
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A library book has been returned nearly 82 years after it was borrowed from a library in Texas. The book – Your Child, His Family, And Friends by marriage and family counsellor Frances Bruce Strain – came with a letter noting that 'Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore'. It was checked out in July 1943 and returned this June by a person in Oregon, the San Antonio Public Library said. 'After the recent death of my father, I inherited a few boxes of books he left behind,' the person wrote in a letter that was shared by the library on Instagram and signed with the initials P.A.A.G. The book was a guide for parents on helping their children navigate personal relationships. It was checked out when the person's father was 11 years old. 'The book must have been borrowed by my Grandmother, Maria del Socorro Aldrete Flores (Cortez),' the person wrote. 'In that year, she transferred to Mexico City to work at the US Embassy. She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession.' The book had received write-ups in various newspapers at the time. The Cincinnati Enquirer described it in June 1943 as a 'complete guidebook to the personal relationships of the child with his family and the outside world'. The New York Times noted a month later that Strain was a psychologist and mother of two who was 'best known for her wise, sensitive, but unsentimental presentation of sex education'. The person who returned the book wrote in the letter: 'I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore.' The library said in a news release that it eliminated overdue fines in 2021. The inside cover of the book was stamped with the warning that the fine for overdue books was three cents a day. Not accounting for inflation, the penalty would amount to nearly 900 dollars (£663). Three cents in July 1943 amounts to 56 cents (41p) in today's money, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics' Inflation Calculator. That would add up to more than 16,000 dollars (£11,800). The library noted that the book is in 'good condition'. It will be on display in the city's central library throughout August. It will then be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library and sold to benefit the library. Eight decades may seem like a long time for an overdue library book, but it is nowhere near the record. Guinness World Records says the most overdue library book was returned to Sidney Sussex College at the University of Cambridge in 1956. It was borrowed in 1668, some 288 years earlier. No fine was extracted.
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Library book returned after 82 years. Note says, 'Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore'
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — A library book has been returned nearly 82 years after it was borrowed from the San Antonio Public Library. It came with a letter noting that 'Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore.' The book is 'Your Child, His Family, and Friends' by marriage and family counselor Frances Bruce Strain. It was checked out in July 1943 and returned this past June from a person in Oregon, the library said in a news release. 'After the recent death of my father, I inherited a few boxes of books he left behind,' the person wrote in a letter that was shared by the library on Instagram and signed with the initials P.A.A.G. The book was a guide for parents on helping their children navigate personal relationships. It was checked out when the person's father was 11 years old. 'The book must have been borrowed by my Grandmother, Maria del Socorro Aldrete Flores (Cortez),' the person wrote. 'In that year, she transferred to Mexico City to work at the US Embassy. She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession.' The book had received write-ups in various newspapers at the time. The Cincinnati Enquirer described it in June 1943 as a 'complete guidebook to the personal relationships of the child with his family and the outside world.' The New York Times noted a month later that Strain was a psychologist and mother of two who was 'best known for her wise, sensitive, but unsentimental presentation of sex education.' The person who returned the book wrote in the letter: 'I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won't be able to pay for it anymore.' The library said in a news release that it eliminated overdue fines in 2021. The inside cover of the book was stamped with the warning that the fine for overdue books was three cents a day. Not accounting for inflation, the penalty would amount to nearly $900. Three cents in July 1943 amounts to 56 cents in today's money, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Inflation Calculator. That would add up to more than $16,000. The library noted that the book is in 'good condition.' It'll be on display in the city's central library through August. It will then be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library and sold to benefit the library. Eight decades may seem like a long time for an overdue library book, but it's nowhere near the record. Guinness World Records says the most overdue library book was returned to Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, England, in 1956. It was borrowed in 1668, some 288 years earlier. No fine was extracted.
