Overdue Richland library book returned 63 years late. Here’s the excuse

The Richland Public Library has checked in a book that was due 63 years, 11 months and 1 day ago.

But despite the extreme tardiness, there will be no fine, the library assured in a Facebook post.

That’s a good thing for the man who turned it in, since he has at least one more book that is wildly overdue.

However, he told library staff he hasn’t finished reading it.

The man, who the library identified only as a “lovely gentleman,” inherited a friend’s personal library and discovered the overdue library books.

He immediately returned the biography “Henry Ford and Ford Motor Co.” by Allan Nevins, which was published in 1954 and checked out from the Richland library in 1962.

He didn’t identify the other overdue book, but said he’ll bring it in when he’s done reading it.

“We can’t wait to see what it is!” the staff posted.

The library and Richland City Council approved a policy change in 2022 that ended the collection of overdue fees.

However, items more than two weeks overdue are considered lost, and you’ll be charged a replacement fee unless the item is returned in good condition.

The library didn’t immediately know what the overdue fees would have amounted to for a book not turned it, but posted that in the 1960s the average fee nationally was 1 to 3 cents a day.

In the 1970s the Richland library was charging an overdue fee of 5 cents per day, which increased to 10 cents in the 1980s and 25 cents in the 2000s.

The library posted that the return of the long overdue book “has our staff tickled pink” as they focus on programs and displays to mark the library’s 75th anniversary this year.

Readers of the library’s Facebook post also enjoyed the account of the return of the book, with more than 900 posting thumbs up, hearts or “wow” faces in less than 24 hours.

“This is great! Sometimes books have a life all their own,” one person commented.

One enterprising commenter calculated the estimated late fee that the borrower of the returned book escaped: $3,250.

This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 3:02 PM.