Category: Uncategorized

Q: What happens to super overdue items normally?

A: For the most part, items returned this overdue are not added back into the collection because they’ve either fallen out of interest, are outdated, or are something that’s a perennial favorite, so we’ve replaced it with a newer copy sometime in the last 30 years. Maybe replaced it a few times.

On the rare occasion we get something SUPER old back in the old book drop, usually the OUTSIDE book drop when it comes to stuff like this, we will usually look into the item a bit to make sure we’re not getting rid of an important, valuable, or super rare resource, then end up recycling them.

Q; What’s the fine on something like that?

A: It’d be something like $700-$1,400 dollars, depending on whether we went with a 5-cent fine or a 10-cent fine per day, or maybe did one for a little while, then switched to the other.

Buuuut, HPLD, like most libraries, stops charging late fees at the point where the late fee amount is higher than the cost to replace the book. It doesn’t really make sense to pay $700 for a book that we could replace for $15, right?

I mean, it’d be nice. If the funds went into a newsletter writer’s vacation piggy bank, the argument in favor of those high dollar fines could be made…

HPLD has been fine free for quite a while now. What this means is that you don’t get late fees for bringing stuff back late. However, we do still charge for items that are never returned. This has worked for us as a balance between not punishing people for late returns (most info on this practice shows it’s not effective in getting people to return things faster) and recouping the cost of items that never come back!

Q: Are you worried that all the fun around this will encourage others to emulate this behavior, returning books super late?

A: Honestly, no. A) Because the fun surrounding this is really about the fact that we all return things late, but the degree of lateness here is exceptional, so it’s about not feeling so bad about being a few days late here and there, B) It’s hilarious that this is a book on psychedelics, and the only thing that’d be funnier would be a book on time management, C) If someone checks out something today and returns it this late, I’ll be thrilled to simply have lived that long a life.

Q: How far did this spread?

A: Well, here’s a listing of some of the outlets that picked up the story:

Denver Post https://www.denverpost.com/2024/03/19/late-overdue-pscyhedelics-library-book-high-plains-weld-county/

Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13227015/Book-psychedelics-returned-library-37-years-late.html

WSB-TV: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/trending/library-book-checked-out-1987-returned-nearly-4-decades-later/CIRSCWAIWREIHDNEZFZKGWUDAM/

Metro: https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/22/psychedelics-book-returned-library-37-years-late-20511937/

New York Post: https://nypost.com/2024/03/20/us-news/psychedelics-book-returned-to-library-37-years-late-as-mysterious-note-apologizes-for-long-strange-trip/

Fox News: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/colorado-library-receives-book-37-years-due-long-strange-trip

Denver 7: https://www.denver7.com/long-strange-trip-library-book-returned-37-years-late-with-a-note

Axios: https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2024/03/20/overdue-book-returned-colorado-library-37-years-later

Greeley Tribune: https://www.greeleytribune.com/2024/03/07/events-taking-place-at-clearview-and-high-plains-library-districts-loveland-public-library-for-march-9-15/

KDVR: https://kdvr.com/news/local/colorado-library-book-returned-37-years-late/

Q: What has the book returner’s response been?

A: I couldn’t tell you! They’ve elected to remain anonymous so far. 

But if you’re out there: We’ve all been there, and thanks for returning the book! Hopefully a lost book charge hasn’t kept you away from the library all these years, and if it has, shoot me an email (pderk@highplains.us), and we’ll see if we can’t fix the situation.