The book, called "Spoon River Anthology," is a collection of poems about the fictitious residents of a town called Spoon River. It was written by Edgar Lee Masters.
So how did this book, which was first published in 1915, wind up back at the library, you wonder? It was all thanks to a son who was cleaning out his mother's house, according to a Facebook post published by the Shreve Memorial Library.
"I guess he thought that he would just return it to its rightful owner," Ivy Woodard, public relations executive at Shreve Memorial Library, told ABC News. "I'm pretty sure he was hoping that somebody else could get that book and enjoy whatever words were in it."
As it turns out, the book was either checked out in March or April of 1934, when the local man's mother was just 11 years old. The specified due date on the book's return card was listed as April 14, 1934, news station WCMH reported.
"We found it very serendipitous that he would return the book in the first place after all those years," Woodard said. "That is very rare. We rarely have that happen. But I guess better late than never."
"It speaks well of humanity to return something to the rightful owner," she added.
Though the maximum fine the library can charge for an overdue book is $3, it opted to waive the fee when the anthology was returned.
