Deepizzaguy
<a href="https://www.amazon.it/Anthology-Editions-Masters-1-Feb-2000-Paperback/dp/B011T79TPO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Source</a>
This story is kind of odd since could you imagine what would be the price to return a book that was checked out of the Shreve Memorial Library in Shreveport Louisiana in 1934 only to be returned to the same library to the same library 84 years alter?
The person who checked out the book “Spoon River Anthology” that was written by Edgar Lee Masters was the mother of an 11 year old young lady who was at the time 11 years of age when she checked out the book in 1934.
What happened was that the patron who is the son of the lady that checked out the book back in 1934 but failed due to return the book to the library to avoid late fees was doing some house cleaning when he found the book that was written by Edgar Lee Masters inside the home.
Normally a library that does not get a book that was checked out only to be returned 84 years later would face a huge library late fee that would around say around say $10,000 or higher.
When the Shreve Memorial Library which is located in downtown Shreveport Louisiana received the book that was checked out 84 years later received the book from the patron, he only had to pay a $3 dollar late fee when he returned the book that his mom checked out.
I am sure the patron thanked his lucky stars after he was given a slap on the wrist by the officials of the library since had the late fee would that was in effect in 1934.
I shudder to think what the late fee for a book that was returned 84 years later would be in today’s system for returning a book that was overdue for a long time.
As a side note, the return of a checked out library book that was returned to a local library 84 years later is now the national record in the U S A.
The officials of the Shreve Memorial Library said on there social media site the catchphrase “Better late than never.” I agree with that statement.
I like to keep out getting in trouble with library officials.
I wonder how much the antique book costs?
Probably around $50- $100 dollars since I do not think the market value of this book is that high today.
Amazing right? Yup, better late than never.
It sounds like something from Ripley’s Believe It Or Not series.
In my neck of the woods, the libraries do amnesty once a year for precisely that reason
I did not know that for a fact since even though there is a library in my neighborhood, I do not have time to stop by and check out a book or compact disc.
I don’t know if they do it in your town, and it would be awkward to ask…
That is a good question since I have never entered the libraries in the downtown Lake Charles and the library that is near a school where my nephew attended.
How are you going to ask the librarian without sounding like you’re planning to rip them off?
A very interesting e story, looks like letters that travel for years or messages in a bottle floating by the seas.
That is true since it is very rare for a book to overdue from a local library for such a long time.
How funny, better late than ever is true in this case.
That is true since the book that was returned to the library in Shreveport can be checked out by another reader in the near future.
I heard the story about a book that was returned late but I never heard the whole story. I didn’t know the person had to pay a fine. I wonder how much the market value of the book was at the time. Because a library that is strapped for cash might have been able to resell it and get some money. Our public libraries don’t often have a large budget, so I was just wondering.
I am sure that the book was not that popular in 1934 or else the library officials would have fined the patron who brought the book back 84 years later. As far I know in libraries in Louisiana there is a late fee for any books or any items that do not get checked in time.