Look: Overdue book returned to New York Public Library after 72 years
Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The New York Public Library celebrated the return of a copy of Igor Stravinsky's 1936 autobiography 72 years after it was last checked out.
Billy Parrott, director of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, said he received a call a few days before Christmas from the library's 5th Avenue branch.
The situation turned out to be the return of a book that had been checked out April 4, 1952, and had been due back two weeks later.
"We routinely get stuff [returned], all the time, from the '80s or the '90s but rarely stuff from mid-century," Parrott told Gothamist.
Parrot said the book, Igor Stravinsky's autobiography, was returned by a man who explained his mother had checked it out from the library's Woodstock branch in the Bronx while she was studying music at Hunter College.
The woman never got around to returning the book, and even went on to work at a New York Public Library location in the Bronx for a time.
Parrot said the book will not be returned to circulation, but will instead be kept "for the curiosity and engaging story."
The library shared photos of the long-lost book on Instagram.
"Do you happen to have a library copy of Igor Stravinsky's 1936 autobiography that's 72 years overdue?" the post said. "Is the fear of late fees preventing you from returning it? Forget about it! The New York Public Library has been fine free since since 2021."
