SAN ANTONIO — A book checked out last century has been returned to a Texas library. Thank goodness the library has done away with late fees.

The book, “Your Child, His Family, and Friends,” was written by Frances Bruce Strain, a marriage and family counselor, The Associated Press reported.

Boo

The person from Oregon who sent it back to the San Antonio Public Library in June said that their father had died and that they had inherited a few boxes of books, one of which was the property of the library, Fox News reported.

The letter, which was shared on Instagram, was signed P.A.A.G., who also wrote: “The book must have been borrowed by my Grandmother, Maria del Socorro Aldrete Flores (Cortez). In that year, she transferred to Mexico City to work at the US Embassy. She must have taken the book with her, and some 82 years later, it ended up in my possession.”

The note’s writer added, “I hope there is no late fee for it because Grandma won’t be able to pay for it anymore.”

The late fee when the book was checked out was three cents a day, or about 56 cents a day in today’s money, the AP said.

Not counting for inflation, the fine would be about $900 but when adjusted for inflation, that balloons to more than $16,000, the AP said.

Luckily for this family, the San Antonio library got rid of overdue fines in 2021.

The book is still in good condition, library officials said, who will put it on display through the end of the month. It will then be given to the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library to be sold to benefit the library.

This is not the most overdue book, despite being eight decades late.

That honor, if you can call it that, was a book about the Archbishop of Bremen that was returned to Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, England in 1956, according to Guinness World Records.

It was found in the library of the then Marquess of Cholmondeley at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, United Kingdom and returned by Professor Sir John Plumb, the organization said.

The book was borrowed in 1669. No fine was levied.

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