Inside the book was a slip of paper indicating that it was due back at the Warren library on Dec. 4, 1974.
DETROIT — Fifty years later, a man who grew up in suburban Detroit tried to return a very overdue baseball book to his boyhood library.
The answer: You can keep it — and no fine.
Chuck Hildebrandt, a 63-year-old man from Chicago, recalled visiting the public library in Warren during his Thanksgiving trip. He mentioned carrying a book titled “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars” that he had borrowed in 1974 as a 13-year-old self-proclaimed “baseball nut” but had never returned.
Hildebrandt explained that his failure to return the book back in the day was due to the chaotic nature of moving multiple items. He noted that during the moving process, books are often packed in boxes in a hurry without meticulous inspection, making it easy to overlook specific items such as borrowed books.
Upon rediscovering the book around five or six years ago, he noticed a Dewey decimal library number on it, triggering his curiosity. Inside the book, he found a slip indicating its due date at the Warren library was Dec. 4, 1974. Hildebrandt shared with The Associated Press that he made a decision to hold onto the book until 2024, the 50th anniversary, before attempting to return it, thinking that the library might be interested in the story as a long overdue exchange.
He said he recently met library director Oksana Urban, who listened to his pitch. Hildebrandt said he hasn’t heard anything since then, though Urban told the Detroit Free Press that all is forgiven.
“Some people never come back to face the music,” she said of patrons with overdue books. “But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system.”
So “Baseball’s Zaniest Stars” is back on Hildebrandt’s shelf. In return, he’s now trying to raise $4,564 for Reading is Fundamental, a nonprofit literacy group. The amount roughly represents a 50-year overdue library fine. Hildebrandt is seeding the effort with $457.
