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82-Year-Overdue Book Returns to San Antonio Public Library

The library is exhibiting the guide through August ahead of a Friends Book Cellar sale to fund library programs under its fine-free model.

Overview

  • The parenting guide by Frances Bruce Strain was mailed back in June, marking SAPL’s longest overdue return of 82 years.
  • A letter signed P.A.A.G. from Oregon traces the book’s journey to a grandmother’s service at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and its later inheritance.
  • Library officials say the volume arrived in remarkably good condition despite nearly eight decades away.
  • Strain’s 1943 work drew coverage in The New York Times and Cincinnati Enquirer as an authoritative guide to child–family relationships.
  • The due-date card’s three-cent daily fine amounts to about $896 over 29,891 days or exceeds $16,000 when adjusted for inflation.