Overdue Book Returned After 84 Years to Helsinki Library

There’s nothing like getting lost in a good book, but one reader in Finland seems to have taken that to an extreme. 

Staff at a public library in Helsinki were rather surprised when a copy of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Refugees” was returned to them more than eight decades after its due date.

The novel, a Finnish translation of the English original, was received at Helsinki Central Library Oodi’s lobby on Monday - more than 84 years after its due date of December 26, 1939. 

The returned book contained the borrower’s library card, leading staff to believe that the original patron who took out the book was a businessman from the Pursimiehenkatu area of the Finnish capital.

Librarian Heini Strand, who received the book at the library, shared her thoughts on the return. 

"The one who returned the book didn’t tell - and we didn’t ask - what was their relation to the one who originally loaned the book,” she told CNN in an email. 

Strand noted that it’s not uncommon for the library to receive books that are decades overdue, often discovered by friends or family sorting through the belongings of a deceased relative. 

However, she could not confirm if this was the case for this particular book.

The timing of the due date offers a possible explanation for the book's long absence. The Soviet Union attacked Finland on November 30, 1939, just a month before the due date. 

“The winter war had started just a month before the due date, so probably returning of a library loan wasn’t the first thing on the loaner's mind at the due date,” Strand said.

Despite its age, the book was in reasonably good condition and may soon return to circulation for public borrowing. 

The library already has two copies of "The Refugees" in its collection. 

The returned copy was sent to the book storage of Helsinki city library’s main library in Pasila. 

There, the staff will decide whether to reintegrate it into the collection. If accepted, library customers will be able to reserve and borrow it online.

Interestingly, the maximum penalty for an overdue book at the Helsinki library is €6 ($6.50), but no fine is being levied in this case. 

The book was no longer in the library’s system, which had undergone several changes since it was initially borrowed. 

Siina Tiuraniemi, a librarian colleague of Strand, emphasized the library's mission. 

“Our purpose is not to guard the books; we are here to promote reading and enable access to books and knowledge to everyone. 

The library is a very humane place, and people in Finland use the libraries a lot and understand how they work. Library books belong to all of us, and late returns are not a big problem,” she told CNN.

This remarkable story highlights the enduring value of books and the important role libraries play in our communities. 

It also serves as a reminder that even amidst the chaos of history, the love for reading and the commitment to shared knowledge persist across generations.