Talk about overdue: A book lost since Union soldiers raided a library during the Civil War was returned to a Virginia university (Washington & Lee) 145 years late. One of those UPI Odd Stories.
Most of the volumes taken from the Washington College library during the war between the states were returned soon after, but one — a leather-bound book that was part of a four-volume history of a Napoleonic military campaign — didn’t make it back to Lexington, VA until February, the school’s technical services librarian said Wednesday.
how do we know it’s overdue?
I want to see the charging system that has a record of that book going out but not returning. Everyone assumes these 100-yr-old books are overdue because it makes a cute story.
But a more interesting story is when the librarian pulls a ledger from the storage room, blows off the dust and flips to the page with the record of the loan. That’s a story.
Good point! Instead of just
Good point! Instead of just turning a page, maybe we can close the chapter on this type of story.
It’s not an overdue book
As it said it was stolen!
Mind you I suppose theres still quite a few things that one state took that the other would still want back so maybe thats why it was called ‘overdue’?
Bill the US Army?
So how much does the US Army owe? 😉
are you requesting
that this kind of story be shelved?
no, it’s just that journalists continue to think…
that the word “overdue” is too cute to ignore, even when it’s completely wrong. but there was another story recently where a different guy returned a book that was 100 years “overdue,” so again, that’s the point: how does anyone know if it’s overdue or stolen or discarded or whatever?
my point was that if the library has a record of the loan, then that’s a truly amazing story.
Let’s Look at This Again!
“A book lost since Union soldiers raided a library during the Civil War”……”taken from the Washington College library during the war between the states”……..”part of a four-volume history of a Napoleonic military campaign ”
Now, from first thought, it seems to me the book was taken to work from….the key words in my equation are:
Soldiers+During the War+Napoleonic Military campaign = Strategic Military Planning During a period of War. Maybe a Captain or Lieutenant or Colonel needed the book to help win a few battles.
It would even be more interesting to know if the book helped his “cause”.
>^..^<