Century-overdue library book finally returned in Minnesota

The book, Famous Composers, was recently returned to a library in St. Paul, Minnesota. Photo / AP

A library book that was more than a century overdue has finally been returned in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Titled Famous Composers and featuring the likes of Bach and Mozart, the tome turned up while someone was sorting through a relative’s belongings.

The St. Paul Public Library check-out slip shows it was last borrowed in 1919, Minnesota Public Radio reports. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter joked in a tweet on Saturday that there would be no fine.

The library, like many across the country, stopped charging late fees in 2019. The future of the book is uncertain.

John Larson, the St. Paul Public Library’s digital library co-ordinator, said he doubted it would go back into circulation because of its delicate condition, but expected the library to hang on to it.

”It has reached a point where it’s not just an old book, it’s an artefact. It has a little bit of history to it,” he said.

Larson said in his 25 years working for the library, it was the oldest book he ever saw returned. “There’s been a time or two when something has come back and maybe it has been checked out for 20 or 30 years, but nothing where it looks like it has been out for some 100 years,” he said.