If you’ve got an overdue library book sitting on your nightstand, making you feel guilty for your laziness, here’s something that might make you feel better.
A man returned a book to the New York Public Library’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library last month—72 years after it was due, Patch reports.
The book in question was Igor Stravinsky’s Stravinsky: An Autobiography, which the legendary Russian composer published in 1936. The book was checked out in 1952 by the man’s mother, who was studying music education at Hunter College.
Gothamist reports that when the book was returned, a library clerk immediately called Billy Parrott, the library’s director.
“We routinely get stuff all the time from the ’80s or the ’90s, but rarely stuff from [the] mid-century,” Parrott said.
The library had made an attempt to get the book returned in 1953, 10 months after it was originally checked out. They requested the book be brought back and asked for a fine of $3.25—about $38.40 in today’s dollars.
No late fee was assessed on the Stravinsky autobiography this time, however—the New York Public Library did away with them more than three years ago.
“If someone gets a late fee, they might not come back, and ultimately, we want people to use our materials,” Parrott told Patch. “And nothing says ‘This book was loved’ like its fully stamped due date card.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
