They can close the book on this.
An overdue book was recently returned to a suburban New York library nearly 90 years to the day it was checked out — and only incurred a surprisingly 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, due date.
Joanie Morgan of Virginia first contacted the library in July after she found the book among her stepfather’s belongings and mailed it back at the end of September, Larchmont librarian Caroline Cunningham told The Post.
It was likely the longest check-out the Larchmont library’s had since its opening in 1926, and Cunningham said the man who borrowed the book lived in the village at the time.
“This was quite a surprise for us, for sure,” she said.
“At first I thought, are you calling the right library because we actually get a lot of phone calls from Virginia because there’s a Larchmont library in Virginia,” Cunningham said of talking to Morgan.
Former Larchmont resident Jimmie Ellis lived in the village with his first wife and two kids at the time he checked the book out book, according to a letter Morgan sent the library that was cited by Patch.
“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,” part of the letter states.
Ellis, who was an advertising executive, died in 1978.
Larchmont patrons are hit with a 20-cent charge every day a book is past due, but the maximum fine is $5, the library said in a Facebook post.
“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,” it wrote. “However, when the book is returned, it reverts back to the maximum fine which is five dollars.”
While the $5 late fee was not tucked into the pages of the book, library officials weren’t too concerned considering the book has been out of Larchmont’s system for years.
“That copy’s going to stay out of circulation,” said Cunningham, who works in the reference department. “And will probably have it just to keep because it’s a funny story.”
The book has stamps of when it was checked in and out of the library on a handwritten card before it vanished for 90 years.
Cunningham, a Larchmont native, said the library turned the incredible situation into a learning experience for patrons who have lagged on returning overdue books.
It’s still missing a lot of books from students’ summer reading lists, she noted.
