If you’re a frequent visitor to libraries, have you ever found yourself unable to return borrowed books on time? Because this is clearly what happened in a library in Finland, and perhaps, in the most intriguing way.
After being overdue for 84 years due to the library’s return policy, a Finnish translation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s historical novel Refugees was safely received by librarian Heini Strand on Monday at the main desk at the Helsinki Central Library Oodi.
“The due date of the loan was 26 December 1939,” Strand said. She added that she had never encountered such a long overdue book.
Without any knowledge of the connection between the person who returned the book and its original borrower, Strand explained, “Usually these kinds of loans returned decades after the due date are books found when people go through deceased relatives’ belongings.”
“People want to do the right thing and return the book that is the library’s property… I think that is lovely,” she added.
Strand also believed that the return likely got delayed due to the Soviet Union’s invasion of Finland in November 1939.
This conflict, also known as the Winter War, occurred between Finland and the Soviet Union from November 1939 to March 1940. It ended with a peace treaty that resulted in Finland losing some territory.
Strand told AFP that, considering this, “The return of the book might not have been the first thing on the borrower’s mind as the due date approached.”
With the decent quality of the book despite its age, Strand believes that the library will make it available for public use. “The quality of old books is usually much better than new ones,” she added.
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