The New York Public Library got an unexpected gift the week before Christmas – an overdue library book checked out from the Woodstock Library in the Bronx in 1952. A man returned the copy of Igor Stravinsky’s 1936 autobiography, which had been checked out by his mother 73 years ago, to The New York Public Library’s 455 5th Ave. location.
Billy Parrott, director of the Fifth Avenue branch known as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library, said it was the oldest overdue book he had ever heard of.
“ When you return a book, the first thing I do is open up and look at that due date card or the stamps,” said Parrott. “For me, as a librarian, there’s nothing like that physical representation that this book has been read.”
When the patron’s mother checked out the autobiography 73 years ago, she was studying music education at Hunter College and lived in Harlem and the Bronx. She was interested in the book since Stravinsky was a Russian-born composer known for The Firebird Suite, which he debuted at the Paris Opera in 1910. The piece was later revived for Disney’s Fantasia and Fantasia 2000.
The book was due back two weeks after the woman checked it out from the Bronx Woodstock Library branch and she received multiple requests for its return. In February of 1953 the library mailed her a notice calling for the return of the book, months after its due date.
“Since these communications have not been returned by the Post Office, I must assume you have received them,” the letter from the library said. “Therefore, I must refer this case to the authorities. I make this last appeal and urge you to consider your obligation toward your library by returning the book to the branch from which it was borrowed.”
When Parrott received the book, the letter was tucked inside the jacket.
“ I think it’s funny that they kept that note with that book the entire time,” Parrott said.
The New York Public Library charged the woman the cost of the book instead of applying late fees. The total late fee would have been $3.25, but the library eliminated late fees in 2021.
Parrott said that sometimes, a book’s journey can be more interesting than the book itself, noting that the overdue book had been checked out 30 or more times before its 73-year hiatus out of circulation.
“ That person you hand the book to – there’s a very good chance they’ll remember that transaction, that moment in time,” Parrott said. “Especially if it becomes their favorite book.”
