The story takes place on May 18, 2023 at the Library of St. Helena in California (USA). On this day, a visitor brings back a book that was borrowed in 1927. That’s 96 years too late! Fortunately, the man escaped the penalties that the establishment might have demanded of him. narrative.
Do you have a book you would like to return to the library for an extended period of time? No panic. In the United States, a book loaned out in 1927 has just been returned to the Library of St. Helena, California! On May 18, 2023, a man came to drop him off, reports the American television station CBS Sacramento. A book with a worn appearance and full of dust. The library’s director, Chris Kreiden, didn’t immediately understand what it was about, nor that the object was very old and very fragile. Only after seeing “that it fell apart” that the manager almost had “afraid to touch it” Season 20 minutes. But soon Chris Kreiden and the library staff couldn’t help but open it carefully and read through it to try to unravel its mysteries…
Inside was a small piece of paper that said: “This book has a shelf life of two weeks. » A sentence that has something to smile about, because the work in question, entitled “A History of the United States” by historian Benson John Lossing, published in 1892, was returned more than 96 years late!
But who brought the book back?
According to The Washington Post, the name of the 75-year-old man who brought the book to the library is Jim Perry. A few weeks ago, the seventy-year-old, who lives in a house in the city of Napa, California, decided to sort through his belongings. When his partner died in 2015, he left the city of St. Helena and moved two hours south to Napa. In his new home, the man has stored many things, including “Boxes of Old Books”, underlines the American newspaper.
Jim Perry came across Benson John Lossing’s book while rummaging through one of the boxes. “It’s a book that’s been in our family for five generations,” he told American media. to have noticed “Since the history book belonged to the library, he decided to return it,” reports the Washington Post.
According to manager Chris Kreiden, the book could be part of the original collection of St. Helena’s library. In fact, in its early days, the establishment filed charges “25 cents a month” The Washington Post further specifies the books to read or study at home. According to Jim Perry, almost a hundred years ago the borrower of the book would probably have been his father-in-law. And he probably forgot to bring it back!
also read : She borrows a children’s book from the library, she returns it… 63 years later
A $1,700 penalty
$1,700 is the amount the book’s current owner would have had to pay in principle for the 96-year cumulative delay. “But the library gave up punishing latecomers some time ago.” shows 20 minutes. A chance for Jim Perry, who remains amazed by the book’s story after years of staying at home. “I didn’t know how unique he was” he said in the Washington Post.
From now on “placed in a glass case near the library entrance”, The plant still has a bright future ahead of it, because it could be “to put in an archive box for better storage or to donate to the local history association”, stresses the Washington Post.