2026-10-20 11:05:15
A library has welcomed back a book that spent more than four decades on the missing list after it was finally returned 43 years overdue.
Workers at the Greater Victoria Public Library in British Columbia discovered the dusty copy of Herman Wouk’s 1978 novel War and Remembrance earlier this month while processing returns.
The battered book immediately stood out, with a cracked spine, no barcode and a paper checkout card still tucked inside.
That card revealed it was supposed to have been returned to the Oak Bay branch on September 1, 1983.
The library wrote on Instagram: “This book was due back in 1983 and has just been returned, a remarkable 43 years later! It may well be one of the most overdue items we’ve ever had returned.”
There was no note explaining where the book had been for all those years, leaving librarians unable to identify the mystery borrower.
Borrowing records are regularly purged, meaning the library has no way of tracking down the person responsible.
Delia Filipescu, the library’s coordinator of branch operations, said: “We’re very happy that someone had the courage or conscience to bring it back.”
The return could have resulted in a hefty bill under the library’s old late-fee system.
Filipescu estimated the borrower would have faced around $3,100 in fines, based on a charge of 20 cents per day.
But there will be no demand for payment. The library has no intention of pursuing the long-overdue fees.
Instead, staff appear simply delighted to have the wandering tome back where it belongs.
The library reminded anyone who has discovered a long-lost book at home that they can return it to any branch, with no questions asked.
Its Instagram post read: “If you’ve discovered a long-lost library book at home, a friendly reminder that you can return library materials at any branch, any day, any time. No judgment, just happy reunions.”
Despite the impressive delay, the book does not hold the library’s record for the longest overdue return.
That honour belongs to a copy of Stephen Leacock’s Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town, borrowed in 1916 and finally returned in 1998, a staggering 82 years later.
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