82 Years Later, Overdue Book Is Returned to Library: ‘I Hope There Is No Late Fee’

NEED TO KNOW

• The San Antonio Public Library received a letter along with the overdue book that was checked out in July 1943

• According to the writer of the letter, the book was checked out by their grandma

• The book, returned from Oregon in “good condition,” is author Frances Bruce Strain’s Your Child, His Family, and Friends

An Oregon resident returned a library book — nearly 82 years after its due date — that was checked out in Texas in July 1943.

The San Antonio Public Library (SAPL) recently revealed that it received a cheeky letter along with the overdue book, author Frances Bruce Strain’s Your Child, His Family, and Friends, this summer.

The SAPL shared in a news release that the letter’s writer found the book while going through her late dad’s belongings and said that the dad’s mother checked out the book when the dad was 11 years old.

“When I noticed it was from the San Antonio Public Library, I decided to send it back to you,” the person, whom the SAPL did not identify, told the library in the letter. “[My grandmother] must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession.”

“I hope there is no late fee for it because grandma won’t be able to pay for it anymore,” the writer wrote jokingly.

Luckily, the library hasn’t charged for overdue books since 2021, when it eliminated late fees “to break down financial barriers to accessing library services and resources,” the SAPL said.

The Your Child, His Family, and Friends book will be on display at the Central Library in San Antonio until the end of August.

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The book will then be donated to the Friends of San Antonio Public Library for sale in the Book Cellar used book store.

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