Shhhhheesh, 50 yearsl ate!
Librarians reveal NYC’s most insanely overdue books
Fifty years after snatching a pair of magazines with Marilyn Monroe on the cover, one man’s life as a library scofflaw finally came to an end.
“He said it was on his conscience all these years and that basically he wanted to make it right,” said Frank Collerius, the publiclibrary manager at the Jefferson Market branch in the Village, who told The Post it finally reclaimed the wellogled Look and Life magazines last fall.
“He was such a passionate fan, that in his passion, he inadvertently took them home,” Collerius said of the 65yearold. “Fifty years is a long time to make amends.”
Books considered lost — such as a 1920s sex manual recently returned 55 years late — make up less than 1 percent of the 6 million items in its circulating collection, according to New York Public Library officials.
But don’t think librarians aren’t taking notice of Dewey Decimal delinquents.
“It was 36 years, one month and seven days late,” said Louise Lareau, the managing librarian at the Children’s Center on 42nd Street, of a stained copy of “Making the Best of It: A Common Sense Guide to Negotiating a Divorce” — withdrawn during the Carter administration and returned in May 2013.
“He very sheepishly handed it over,” she recalled of the elderly man, who said he found the book in his attic. “He asked, ‘What are the fines?’ ”
But since the book’s withdrawal predated the library’s automation system, there was no record he even took it out.
“So he made a $50 donation to the library. He just threw the money and was out the door. He was rather mortified and embarrassed by the whole thing,” she recalled, adding he never said whether he was the one getting divorced.
Offenders often remain anonymous, simply tossing old books in an outdoor drop box.
The Kingsbridge branch in The Bronx got back a biography of El Greco in March 2013 that was due June 14, 1962. “It’s fun to think about where that book has been for the last 50 years,” said Rebecca McDonald, the senior adult librarian there.
And the Jefferson Market branch anonymously received J.J. Scarisbrick’s “Henry VIII” due Jan. 13, 1969, in April 2013, along with two kids books due in 1973, “Kangaroos and Other Animals with Pockets” and “Swimming Hole,” in 2010.
It’s not just books or magazines returned decades late.
Last December, the MidManhattan branch received an envelope from a relative or friend of a painting conservator, who in 1957 checked out 15 images of religious icons from 14th and 15th centuries — and pictures of bowling from the 16th century.
“This person was obviously working on something interesting,” said Billy Parrot, the managing librarian at the branch.
Sometimes, even flatware finds its way back home.
Last August, someone sent back a wayward mid20th century NYPL spoon from when the main branch on 42nd Street had a staff cafeteria. An accompanying note read: “Hi, y’all. I found the enclosed spoon . . . left behind in a rental property my parents are moving into. I was a bit taken aback, because here in the Midwest, libraries don’t have spoons. Gawd, we are such hicks!”
Officials said no matter how grave the offense, there’s no reason to fear the library.
“There’s no permanent record. We don’t have a dark, hidden, secret room somewhere where we maintain files on everyone who’s ever had an overdue book,” said Christopher Platt, NYPL’s acting vice president of public service.
Fines are 25 cents a day and cap at $12 — at which point borrowers are forced to pay the cost of replacing the book. Anyone owing more than $50 will have their accounts locked until their accounts are settled.
He added, “But we’re not hunting you down. We really just want our materials back.”