St. Paul library book returned after 100 years

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A book was returned to the halls of the St. Paul Public Library this week, more than a century after it left the shelves.

The book — "Famous Composers vol. 2" by Nathan Haskell Dole — contains short biographies of composers like Handel and Debussy, offering a perspective music history from the Baroque to the Impressionist era. Written in 1902, it was likely last checked out in 1919.

A Hennepin County resident found the book while looking through their mother's belongings. It was stamped twice - once in 1914 and again in 1916, indicating that it was entered into the library's catalog two times.

"It feels really awesome to hold it in my hand," Maureen Hartman, St. Paul Public Library Director, said. "I think it's a really good reminder of how relevant and important libraries are, both now and 100 years ago as well."

In 1914, the St. Paul Public Library was housed in Market Hall, while the Central Library was still being built. Market Hall was lost to a fire in 1915, but roughly a third of the library's collection was checked out at the time, including, likely, "Famous Composers."

The 1916 stamp indicates that it was likely re-added to the collection that year, ahead of Central Library's opening in 1917. The check out slip in the back says the book was most likely checked out in 1919. 

St. Paul Public Library does not charge late fees, but at minimum, the fine would've been about $400.