There are now two books at the Richland Public Library that definitely don’t have that new book smell. They were last checked out in the 1960s.
The books eventually made their way to the shelves of a good Samaritan, who recently inherited an old book collection. Thumbing through the books, they discovered a check out date card from the library. The small brown envelope, rarely seen now since computers made way for checkouts with barcodes, was still taped to the front cover.
“ We thought it was funny,” said Chris Nulph, Richland Public Library manager. “ We don't judge when you return a book late.”
Especially this late.
The Samaritan decided to read the 600-plus page books, both biographies on Henry Ford.
Both books were due March 17, 1962. But the good Samaritan held on to them a bit longer, making “Ford: The Times, The Man, The Company” by Allsn Nevins 63 years and 11 months overdue.
And by far the library’s record: “The Legend of Henry Ford” by Keith Sward clocked in at 64 years and nine days overdue.
Prior to these finds, Nulph said, Richland’s latest overdue book probably got returned a little over a year after its due date.
“In the books, too, we found a form about how to write essays,” Nulph said. “So we can assume that whoever checked these out originally was writing some sort of essay about Henry Ford for school.”
Those books could have wracked up $3,000 in fines, he joked.
“ Of course, we never charge late fees of that much,” Nulph said. “Generally speaking, at the time, the fee would've capped out at the price of the book.”
However, now, the library doesn’t charge late fees. It’s a new trend among libraries. Libraries across the Northwest have stopped overdue fines, including The Seattle Public Library, Spokane County Library District and Multnomah County Library.
For one thing, it makes libraries easier for people to use, Nulph said.
“Even though late fees aren't much, they can't add up, especially if you check out 50 children's books. A quarter per book can add up to quite a bit,” he said. “Those fees make people stop using the library.”
It’s not worth the small amount of money the library gets from the fees, Nulph said. Plus, more lost books seem to turn up without the fees.
“People are always kind of bashful about returning late books,” he said.
Very old books usually have a library’s stamp in them, Nulph said. Some of those books could have been withdrawn from the library.
That can happen for a variety of reasons, Nulph said:
-A lack of interest. “If something doesn't circulate for a long period of time, we remove it to make way for things that are a bit more relevant.”
-Information could no longer be accurate. “We see that a lot with medical books and science books as things continue to evolve.”
-The book’s condition. “If a book is starting to wear down, we'll just replace it with a new version.”
The two biographies are showing their age, he said. They won’t go back into circulation. Instead, they’ll join a display on the library’s history, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this month.
