SUN PRAIRIE, Wis. — A Wisconsin library book was returned two decades past its due date, with a message attached.

What You Need To Know

  • A book was returned to the Sun Prairie Public Library 20 years past its due date 
  • The woman who returned the book last month said she found it in her parents' basement

  • She included a note apologizing for returning it late, thanking librarians for all they do, and saying she had fond memories of visiting the library growing up

  • The Sun Prairie Library recently went fine-free a few years ago

The woman who returned “Nancy Drew: The Case of the Vanishing Veil” to the Sun Prairie Public Library last month included a note that said she found it in her parents’ basement.

She apologized for returning it so late, thanked librarians for all they do, and said she has fond memories of visiting the library growing up.

“We thought that was awesome that our patrons, even after they’ve gone and grown up and moved to other libraries, still love Sun Prairie Public Library and want to send their books back,” said Sammy Neiman, youth services librarian. “After a book is gone for so long, it gets taken out of the system. We just don’t expect to see it again. It’s marked as lost if it hasn’t been returned in 30 days, and only stays in our system as lost for about a year.”

It wasn’t just the woman’s kind words that got her out of paying a late fee. About three years ago, Sun Prairie Public Library decided to go “fine free.”

Steev Baker, head of access and circulation services, said more libraries around the country are choosing to do this. While late fees can boost funds to help public libraries, they can also alienate some people from using the library.

“Fines makes people kind of feel afraid to use the library because they don’t want to mess it up,” said Baker. “We’re here for everybody in the community. If we made $5,000 a year in fines, it wasn’t really worth all the bad publicity, all the people who just never would come back because they didn’t want to face the fact that they might have had a $20 or $30 fee.”

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