Book is returned 100 years late from US library

Sometimes all we need is a little more time to enjoy a good book. A resident of the state of Minnesota, in the United States, decided to make the most of this time – and then some.

Now, more than a century later, his son has returned the book to the Saint Paul Public Library through another state library system, city library director Maureen Hartman told CNN on Monday.

The 1902 edition of “Famous Composers vol. 2,” by Nathan Haskell Dole, was found in Hennepin County while he was going through his mother’s belongings, the library wrote on social media site X, formerly Twitter.

No other information about the book’s return was available at press time, although the library welcomes the opportunity to speak with whoever brought it back, Hartman said.

The book explores the lives and work of some prominent composers from the Baroque period to the Romantic era, including Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Chopin, according to a modern synopsis.

This particular copy spent only a short time on the shelves of the Saint Paul library, according to a librarian who pieced together part of the book’s journey through the dated stamps and pocket card, the library said.

It was checked out several times, according to the check-out receipt at the back of the book – probably the last time in 1919.

And it hadn’t been returned since.

The extremely late return caught the attention of Saint Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, who joked on social media about the fine that could be accrued for more than 100 years of delay – or rather, the lack thereof, as the library, like many nationwide stopped charging late fees in 2019, he said.

A century before that, the normal fine for a late book would have been a penny a day, Carter said, meaning that today Dole’s hardcover book would have drawn a fine of about $380.

Going back in time

Two check-out stamps — dated June 4, 1914, and January 17, 1916 — reveal the book’s journey, indicating that it may have been entered twice in the library’s catalog, the Saint Paul Public Library said.

The book “was first added in 1914, when the city library was located in the Old Municipal Market and the Central Library was still under construction,” he said. However, the Old Market Hall caught fire in 1915, and essentially the entire library – 160,000 volumes – was burned.

About 34,000 bonds, which were likely in the hands of customers at the time, escaped the flames, Hartman said.

Dole’s book was probably one of the few that survived, he added.

This particular volume was likely added back to the library’s collection in 1916, the Saint Paul Public Library librarian deduced, before the Central Library building opened in 1917.

Still, the hardcover book remains intact, with what appears to be its original binding, worn pages marked by library stamps, scattered pencil writing and some stains, library photos show.

A mathematical equation written on the pocket card solves the following problem: 1928 minus 1791, the library pointed out. Perhaps the reader was trying to figure out how old the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer would have been if he had lived to his day, the team surmised.

Due to its fragile condition, the library does not believe the book should be returned to circulation, Hartman said. Instead, it may end up displayed behind glass in the Saint Paul Collection, which documents parts of the city’s history.

“This was a wonderful opportunity to talk about this specific book,” Hartman said, “but also about libraries and the value of libraries in general.”

“This proved to us once again that libraries are as interesting and beloved now as they were 100 years ago,” he added.

However, the answer to the mathematical equation – as well as the reason why the book remained retired for more than 100 years – may be among those that simply cannot be found in the library, officials acknowledged: “We may never know.”