Book overdue by 82 years sent back to San Antonio Public Library

SAN ANTONIO (KABB/WOAI) — A parenting manual checked out from the San Antonio Public Library in the summer of 1943 has finally made its way home - 82 years after its due date.

"Your Child, His Family and Friends" by Frances Bruce Strain arrived at the library in June inside a package postmarked from Oregon. Alongside it was a letter explaining its unusual journey.

According to Scott Williams, marketing manager for the San Antonio Public Library, the writer believes the book was originally borrowed by their grandmother when the family lived in San Antonio.

Shortly afterward, she was transferred to work for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City, and the book appears to have traveled with her.

“They decided to send it back to the library with a note about its history, which was really fun,” Williams said. “By far, this is the longest overdue book we’ve had returned.”

Decades later, it was discovered among the writer’s late father’s belongings.