A man has surely broken the record for the most overdue library book ever returned, after dropping off a copy that was due back in 1927.
A library in California was left stunned after Jim Perry returned a fraying 1892 copy of A Family History of the United States... 96 years after it was due to be returned.
However, he did not realize the significance of the book at the time, and thought the library would simply be interested in keeping the historical relic.
He told the Washington Post: "This is an old book that’s been in our family for five generations."
Perry returned the book to St. Helena Public Library, around 20 miles from Santa Rosa, where the book had been loaned from almost a century earlier.
The book, written by historian Benson Lossing, is believed to have been part of the St. Helen Library's original collection and workers believe it may have been part of its inventory at its former location in the nearby Carnegie Building which was built in 1908.
Perry had done some digging to find out that the book had probably originally been borrowed by his wife's grandfather, John McCormick, and believes he may have loaned it to start teaching his two young daughters about American history.
Chris Kreiden, the director of the library, revealed: "This is the oldest one I’ve ever seen, definitely. I mean we’ve had things [overdue for] two or three years, maybe five, but never anything quite this long."
Perry revealed that the book had been stored in boxes at his family's home for several years and had even moved houses with him, when he relocated to Napa in 2015.
He happened upon the book while doing some spring leaning and decided to return it to its rightful owners rather than keeping it in the family, adding: "I didn't know how special it was."
The book had been due to be returned by February 21, 1927, with the late fees being five cents a day - so given that it was over 35,000 days late, and not accounting for inflation or fee rises, that would be over $1750 in late fees.
Thankfully, the library stopped charging late fees in 2019, meaning Perry didn't have to fork out a hefty bill for his wife's ancestor's tardiness in returning it.
Kreiden revealed that while the book is "falling apart" it will still be a very special part of the library's collection for many years to come.
The library's Instagram page shared photos of it, writing: "How amazing is this! 96 years ago someone checked this book out from our library.
"It just goes to show, it’s never too late to return your library book. Book is on display by our entrance."
The book is now preserved in a display case near the library's entrance which also holds photos of the reading room and the Carnegie Building, and is flipped open to the back cover page to reveal the original return date stamp.
While it is currently on display for library users to see, Kreiden revealed that it will likely be moved to an archival box or given to the local historical society for further preservation than be kept out in the long term.
