Amnesty month nets three books missing since 1989

It’s amnesty month at the Presque Isle District Library’s four branches in Posen, Presque Isle, Onaway, and Rogers City – a time in which patrons can return books and have fines forgiven. A person can clear his or her conscience, get that book that was lost or forgotten about back to the library, and not pay anything. The library, meanwhile, can get a resource back on the shelves for other customers to check out. It’s a win-win situation, that is, if the person waits a decade-and-a-half to return items. “That’s something that libraries have done for years and years and years,” said director Jan Stevenson of amnesty periods. “I don’t know how far it dates back, or who started it.” The county libraries have had amnesty periods at different periods of the year with a mix of results.

“THIS IS THE first time we’ve tried it in December, hoping people would be out and about,” said Stevenson. The last amnesty period was conducted in the spring. While the program hasn’t been as successful as library officials had hoped, it did net three books that haven’t seen the inside of a library in 15 years. Last week, two autobiographies

about Leon Trotsky and a copy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” were returned to the Rogers City branch. On the surface, the books appeared to be in fair condition, but a closer look, or sniff, one could tell their next stop was the dumpster. STEVENSON HAD the books in a plastic bag because the mildew smell was so strong. “As far as these books, their fines would not have been erased because they were not in good condition,” said Stevenson. “They were not useable because of the mildew. You can’t put mildewed books back on the shelves because it spreads to other books.”

It is not known who had the books, because they were never properly checked out. Stevenson opened the front jacket and revealed the still-in-place checkout cards. The books were last on the shelves around 1989. “At least while I’ve been here, those are the oldest (overdue books) we’ve ever had returned,” said Stevenson.