We’ve all forgotten to return a library book, but this one might take the local record.
In 1934, Spoon River Anthology, a book of poetry by Edgar Lee Masters, was checked out by an 11-year-old girl who lived on Egan Street.
Many remember the book being on a school reading list. It tells the stories of the dead, who are buried in Spoon River. The stories are both funny and quite moving.
The man who 
returned the book to the Main Branch of the Shreve Memorial Library this week told the staff there that they discovered the book while cleaning out his mother’s house.
So what is an 84-year-overdue fine? $3 (which the library waived)! Shreve Memorial caps overdue fines at this small amount, which is a good thing. Had they not, some estimate the fine on this particular book could have topped $1,500.
The library has no plans to put the book back in circulation. The book is old and and binding is loose, so it has been decommissioned. Our suggestion to them was to put it and the story of its return, on display at the Main Branch. We hope they will.
