Book Returned 78 Years Late

News From California where A Brentwood man will not be fined for a library book that was due when Calvin Coolidge was president, the Oakland Public Library announced Friday.

The book, “Kim” by Rudyard Kipling, was due back to the Melrose Branch of the Oakland Public Library on Aug. 29, 1927, according to library spokeswoman Kathleen Hirooka.

The book is not the longest-overdue returned book in Oakland’s history. That record goes to a copy of “Ghetto Comedies” by Israel Zangwill, which was returned in 1995, 88 years after it was due. A local contractor discovered the book in a house where he was working, Hirooka reported.