A book that was checked out of a Minnesota library in the early 1900s has finally been returned — and may be one of the few that survived the 1915 fire.
Librarian at the Public Library of St. Paul was surprised to receive a copy of the 1902 “Famous Composers vol. 2” which was issued from the institution more than 100 years ago.
Nathan Haskell Dole’s book was found by a patron in Hennepin County, who had been sorting through their mother’s belongings and found, according to a tweet from the library.
Librarians believe it may have been one of the few books that shocked the 1915 fire in the library’s old building housed in the Old Market Hall.
At that time, a third of the library’s collection was examined and “Famous Composers” were believed to be among them.
About 160,000 titles were lost in the fire, according to the library.
“Almost the entire library was destroyed,” he tweeted. “This book may be one of the lucky few that survived!”
Librarians at the Saint Paul Public Library were surprised to receive a copy of the 1902 “Famous Composers vol. 2” which was issued from the institution more than 100 years ago. X/@stpaullibrary
Two stamps on the book indicate the volume was entered into the library system twice — once in June 1914 and again in January 1916. The book “was probably re-added to the collection in 1916 prior to the opening of the Central Library building in 1917. , ” he said.
“Famous Composers” was checked out several times during its brief stay at the Central Library location, and was most likely last checked out in 1919.
St. Digital Library Coordinator Paul, John Larson, said it was the most overdue book he had ever seen returned in his 25 years working there, according to the Guardian.
“There have been one or two times when something has come back and maybe it’s been checked for 20 or 30 years, but nothing that looks like it’s been out for about 100 years,” he said. “Maybe once every five or 10 years we’ll see something that’s really overdue.”
Even if the library no longer charges late fees, if it had — at the 1919 rate of 1 cent a day — it could total $36,000.
Libraries stopped charging in 2019, according to the Guardian.
Even if the book finally returns home after more than a century, the “Famous Composer” will likely enter its retirement period because of its complicated condition, Larson said, adding that the library will keep the volume.
“It’s gotten to the point where it’s not just an old book — it’s an artifact. It has a little bit of history,” Larson said.
A New York library got a surprising return recently when overdue books were delivered almost 90 years to the date they were checked out – and only charged a very low $5 late fee.
A copy of Joseph Conrad’s 1925 book “Youth and Two Other Stories” was returned to the Larchmont Public Library in Westchester County last month, just before the 90-year anniversary of its Oct. 11, 1933, expiration date.
A woman cleaning out her stepfather’s belongings found the book and sent it back in late September, Larchmont librarian Caroline Cunningham told The Post at the time.
Larchmont patrons are charged 20 cents for each day a book is overdue, but the maximum fine is $5, the library said in a Facebook post.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
