The moral of Charlie Adams' story is it’s never too late.
At least when it comes to overdue library books, specifically a hardback copy of John Barth’s “Sabbatical: A Romance,” which Barth wrote in 1982 and Adams checked out from the Lincoln City Library in August the following year.
Adams, who had just finished his first year of law school at the University of Nebraska, missed the Aug. 29, 1983, due date.
By 14,153 days.
On May 31, 2022, Lincoln City Libraries got a package containing the book, a check for $58, his apologies and an explanation.
Seinfeld’s hilarious library cop – Mr. Bookman – comes to mind, but there was no bullying involved in Adam’s decision to return the book.
In a letter to the library, he said he came across the book as he and his wife were preparing to move and “it seemed to be a good time to get it back where it belongs.”
Adams grew up in Kearney and earned his undergraduate degree in English from the University of Kearney, where his dad was an English professor, and came to Lincoln for law school.
Between his first and second years of law school, he made a trip to the library and at some point after that, he and his wife moved to another home in Lincoln, Adams said in an interview.
During the move, the book landed in a box and stayed there. After law school, Adams and his wife moved to Helena, Montana, where they’ve lived since — except for one move to Grants Pass, Oregon.
Since Adams checked out Barth's book, he graduated, has practiced worker's compensation law, and with his wife has raised two children and moved five times in Helena. The book moved with them each time.
“I would note that the book stayed on a shelf or in a box on numerous occasions when the scofflaw who’s possessed it for nearly 40 years has visited relatives in Lincoln, Kearney and Gothenburg,” he wrote to library personnel. “Occasions when I could have brought it to you in person.”
Although that didn't happen, when Adams came across it while packing, he sent it on its way home, along with the check he said he hoped would get a couple more books on the shelves.
Adams said he remains an avid reader and still uses the library, though he also is a frequent customer of a “wonderful” bookstore in downtown Helena.
And Barth’s book?
“I remember reading Barth as an undergraduate, but I don’t remember that book,” he said.
Sarah Dale, an administrative aide at the library, said the book — old enough to include the paper pocket in the back for a checkout card — isn’t the most overdue book the library’s ever gotten, but it’s right up there.
The check will go to the Lincoln City Libraries Foundation, Dale said. The book is no longer a part of the library’s collection and, given its advanced age, is unlikely to be returned to the library’s shelves, she said.
That’s OK, though.
“The book has lived an adventurous life,” she said. “It’s fun to communicate with folks who remember us fondly enough to send our stuff back.”
The best part: It showed up at the perfect time to use its long overdue return to help announce that the library will end its policy of fining library patrons for overdue books.
Adams said he has been reading about that trend.
“I have mixed feelings about it," he quipped, "having been a big offender.”
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Former University of Nebraska-Lincoln law student Charlie Adams recently returned a book to Lincoln City Libraries that he checked out in August 1983. He missed the due date by 40 years, but on May 31, 2022, Lincoln City Libraries got a package containing the book, a check for $58, his apologies and an explanation.