Shreveport resident Robert Stroud was going through some of his late mother’s things when he came across a very old copy of “Spoon River Anthology” by Edgar Lee Masters.

The inside of the book jacket revealed that it was actually a Shreve Memorial Library book that his mother, Margaret Eubank Stroud, had checked out in 1934.

“On a lark I just kind of said, ‘Hey, I’m going to drop this off at the library’ — more just thought it would be a funny story,” Stroud said.

Stroud didn't even leave his name when he dropped off the book. Soon after, the Shreve Memorial Library posted on Facebook about the book and how it was returned more than 84 years after it was due — on April 14, 1934. The unique story then attracted media attention locally and beyond.

More:Book is returned 84 years late to Shreve Memorial Library

“The next thing we found out is this went viral… from The New York Times to Inside Edition, and then all over the world,” Stroud said.

Stroud said his mother, who was 11 years old when she checked out “Spoon River Anthology,” loved literature and poetry.

“My mom had a great sense of humor,” he said. “I think she would see a lot of levity in this.”

According to the 1934 library rules listed inside of the book, a fine of 5 cents per day was to be charged for each day an overdue book wasn’t returned — what would amount to more than $1,500.

Three dollars is actually the maximum fine the library will charge for an overdue book. At a nickel a day, that's 60 days. But in this case the library waived the fine completely.

Even so, the Strouds decided they wanted to do something on behalf of their mother.

“My brother and sisters determined (paying the fine) would be a befitting honor to my mom, and also we have an aunt who’s a librarian,” Stroud said.

On Thursday, Oct. 25, Stroud presented Shreve Memorial Library Executive Director John Tuggle with a check for $1,542.65 — what would be owed on the book if 5 cents per day had been charged for every day it was late — as a donation to the library.

“Libraries are places of stories, and now we have a very unique one of our own,” Tuggle said. “The story of a book returned after 84 years is just really special.”

Tuggle joked that he will use this story as a lesson for all of the library’s other users.

“What I’m going to use it for is to remind all of our patrons that it’s never, ever too late to return an overdue book,” he said.