90-Year Overdue Library Book Returned To The Shelves

LARCHMONT, NY — If you're ever feeling bad about keeping that library book for a couple of extra days, consider the case of a collection of Joseph Conrad stories that were past due to be returned to the Larchmont Public Library for the better part of a century.

The book arrived via mail from Virginia. According to the stamp on the card inside, the collection was originally due back on October 11, 1933. The book was returned to the shelves just one month shy of 90 years later. The book, "Youth and Two Other Stories" by Joseph Conrad, was published in 1925 (one of those "other stories" would become arguably Conrad's most famous work "Heart of Darkness.")

Larchmont Public Library Reference Librarian Liam Hegarty tells Patch that nowadays, it's easy to renew a book online before it is overdue — an option that wouldn't have been available in this case. At twenty cents a day for 89 years and 11 months, the fine could have reached just over $6,400. Fortunately, the Larchmont library caps late fees at $5.

When a library book has not been returned after 30 days, it is considered "lost" and the patron is billed for the initial price of the book. However, when the book is returned, it reverts back to the maximum $5 fine.

Asked if this was a record for the longest overdue book returned to the Larchmont Public Library, Hegarty quipped that it was a record that was likely to remain unbroken for a long time to come.

"Well, the library didn't open until 1926," he said.

The story of how the book found its way back home is almost as interesting as the stories on its pages.

Joanie Morgan discovered the book among her stepfather’s belongings and contacted the library to see if the edition was indeed overdue. The library was, of course, ecstatic at the prospect of having the century-old book returned.

"My stepfather, Jimmie Ellis (James H.S. Ellis, Jr. 1893 - 1978), was an advertising executive, working in New York City and living in Larchmont at the time he and his first wife were raising their two sons," Morgan wrote in a letter that accompanied the past due book. "Their house was about two blocks from Larchmont Public Library. And since Jimmie, a writer and avid reader himself, no doubt encouraged his boys to read, they most likely borrowed books from Larchmont Public on a regular basis."