A long-lost library book has been reunited with its owner.
“The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley,” who was a British illustrator and author, was first added to the Worcester Public Library’s collection in 1899. Then in 1973, it was checked out and never returned.
Until now.
Someone from the Boston area recently brought the book to Cambridge’s library. The patron knew it was from Worcester because it still had a Worcester Public Library due date card in it, and asked the Cambridge staff to send it back. Alex London, the genealogy and local history librarian at Worcester’s library, received the call.
“It was genuinely really, really neat,” he said, adding he was surprised to see the book in good condition.
The due date slip says May 22, 1973, and the slip-holder says, “This book is the property of the above library. Good care and prompt return is the responsibility of each borrower.” And yet, the book — the library’s only copy — had been missing for so long that when the Worcester Public Library transitioned from a paper to digital catalog, they left it off the list.
“This is the kind of feel-good situation that us in the library world live for,” said Kathy Penny, a manager at Cambridge’s library, who contacted London about the book.
The librarians said people sometimes come across overdue books as they’re moving out of a home or cleaning up a space. But they said they’ve never seen a book this old and this overdue returned.
The book features drawings from Beardsley, who’s considered a leading figure in the British aesthetic movement of the late 1800s that also saw the playwright Oscar Wilde rise to fame.
“Just being able to hold something, have it be tangible and think, ‘This is something that is over 100 years old. How many people, how many generations have sort of used this item?’” London said. “I really do kind of take that to heart.”
As for overdue fines?
The Worcester Public Library doesn’t charge for late books. And London said because it’s in such good condition, it’ll go back on the library’s shelves for patrons to check out.
But, because of the book’s age, they’ll only be able to use it in the library, not take it home.
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