Below is the full text of a letter we received from a former Rockville resident.
Dear Library Friends:
For many years in the late 1960s and 70s our family lived in Rockville, Maryland and your institution was an important part of our lives. Unlike less enlightened folks, we loved our library! So much in fact that we apparently absconded with a part of it.
Our parents died some years ago but, as is often the case with such things, it has taken awhile for my siblings and I to sort through the artifacts they left behind. On a recent trip to the family homestead in southern Ontario I discovered a bounty of books I had hitherto not especially noticed due to the fact that they’ve molded into our family historic furnishings to the point that they’ve become a naturalized part of our home.
Among the varied collection were two books that apparently came from your facility in Twinbrook: The New Way of the Wilderness, copyright 1958 by Calvin Rustrum, checked out in June 1973 and 365 Meatless Main Dishes, copyright 1974 by William Kaufman, checked out in December 1974.
Both of these books have yet the antiquated computer keypunch cards in their sleeves and apparently were never returned. We apologize for that oversight and hereby endeavor to correct the wrong by paying the accumulated late fees.
I am uncertain of the precise formula you would use to calculate such a fine but I seem to recall that in the mid 1970s the late fee was on the order of $0.05/day. At the present time the two books above have been late by a collective 85 years, or approximately 31,046 days. I have therefore calculated a late fee of $1,552.3 which is enclosed herein.
The matter now arises as to the eventual disposition of these titles. We had considered returning them to the library from which they originated, albeit a bit overdue. However, these books have become imbedded in the family lore and have acquired heirloom status as a result. We, as stewards of our own history, have therefore determined the books are best left in residence on the shelves which they happily occupy at present.
It is our hope that you will refrain from calling the FBI to report this as international trafficking of stolen goods and instead allow us the freedom of maintaining the ill-begotten literature on loan for the next 85 combined years or so, at which time we hope to make another payment to your venerable institution on their behalf.
Sincerely in literature – of the paper kind.Labels: From the Collection, January 2017
Both of these books have yet the antiquated computer keypunch cards in their sleeves and apparently were never returned. We apologize for that oversight and hereby endeavor to correct the wrong by paying the accumulated late fees.