< /p> The book was taken from the library in 1939/senivpetro
The book taken from the Helsinki library was returned 84 years late. The Finnish translation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's historical novel “The Exiles” was received on Monday by librarian Heini Strand at the reception desk of Oodi Helsinki Central Library.
This was reported in The Guardian. The book returned to the library after a staggering 84 years.
“The due date was December 26, 1939,” Strand said, adding that she had never received a book so late.
The relationship between the person who happily returned the book and the original borrower remained unknown.
Usually such books, returned decades after their expiration date, are found when people go through the belongings of deceased relatives. People want to do the right thing and return a book that's owned by the library… I think that's great,
says Ms. Strand.
A possible explanation for the delay in the return is that the return deadline fell a month after the Soviet invasion of Finland in November 1939, said Strand.
“The return of the book may not have been the first the borrower's opinion when the return deadline was approaching,” she noted.
The winter war between Finland and the Soviet Union lasted between the neighboring countries until March 1940, when a peace treaty was signed that forced Finland to make significant land concessions.
The book was taken in 1939/Photo Helsingin kenstakirjasto Oodi
< p>“If a person lived through the war, he probably had other things on his mind than returning the book,” added Strand.
The book is a historical novel published in 1893,< /strong> set in 17th-century France, written by a British author best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories.
Strand said the library could make the book – a 1925 edition – available to the public again, because it was received in such good condition.
The quality of old books is usually much better than new ones,
she added.
Has it ever happened that that you did not return the book to the library for a very long time? Tell us in the comments.