FAIR LAWN — Ever worry about being a day late returning a library book?

At least it’s not 20,075 days — more than a half-century — like one recently returned to the Memorial Middle School library.

Around dismissal time a few days before Valentine’s Day, a man approached the school on 1st Street, telling a police officer that he had something from the school that he wished to return.

When Vice Principal Dominick Tarquinio arrived at the entrance, he was stunned to find the item was a 1961 copy of “The Family Book of Verse” by Lewis Gannett, with a purchase price of $4.95.

“We were all amazed,” said Tarquinio. “It brought us back in history.”

The man told Tarquinio he checked out the book during his middle school days, since he loved poetry, but never returned it, even after receiving many notices about it.

He didn't want to give his name, "afraid of being charged an enormous late fee,” Tarquinio said.

The man recently found the 55-years-overdue library book while cleaning his basement and felt “very guilty” that he had not returned it after all those years. The book was still in good condition, although some pages had yellowed since it was published.

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“He continued to tell me that he loved our school, as he was an average student, but very much involved in school sports and still had many memorabilia from Memorial Junior High School,” said Tarquinio.

Indeed, the book was so old that the library card in the front of the book said “Memorial Junior High School,” the school’s name before it became a middle school. The library couldn’t even scan the book, as it was before the barcode system, said Librarian Susan Murray. Barcodes were invented in 1974, and introduced at libraries years later.

The year the man borrowed the book, probably 1964, was also the year the Beatles performed on the "Ed Sullivan Show," the Warren Report was issued, and the Rev. Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“We were very surprised to receive this book, needless to say,” said Murray.

Since the book is in good condition, Murray will reintroduce it to the circulation, but with a twist: She plans to create a display of the book, explaining the situation to students, which will hopefully encourage them to keep track of their own library books.

“I sometimes have to chase students to get their books, so this was wonderful to have someone who did this,” said Murray. “He could have just placed it in a recycling bin, but he choose to return it, which was really kind.”

It’s hard to say what the fine on a half-century overdue book would be, because it's not known what late fees were in decades past. At today's rate of 10 cents per day, the fine would be a whopping $2,007.50, Tarquinio said.

Either way, the district is going to let it slide this time, said Tarquinio. That didn’t stop him from squeezing in one last joke to the man about the situation, though.

“I accepted the book and told him that I would have to consult the district office to seek decision making of what to charge for his forgetfulness. adding, "I was just kidding.”