Omaha library finally receives children's picture book that was due in 1985: 'Better late than never!'

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Omaha Public Library announced last month that it finally received a book that was checked out in 1985.

The Nebraska library posted a picture of the book, a children's picture book called "Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag, on X in January. The book was originally published in 1928 and entered the public domain in 2024.

The book was checked out in 1985 and due on June 27 of that year. An employee snapped a picture of the book when he came across it, prompting the library to share the rare find.

"Better late than never!" the Omaha Public Library wrote on January 26. "A.V. Sorensen Branch discovered a long-overdue book in their book drop."

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An employee snapped a picture of the long-overdue book when he came across it, prompting the library to share the rare find. (Omaha Public Library)

"The date stamp places this item with the original collection from when the branch first opened!"

Luckily for the borrower, the library system had a liberal policy towards late returns – even in 1985. 

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The book was checked out in 1985 and due on June 27 of that year. (Omaha Public Library)

Omaha Public Library Assistant Director Rachel Steiner told Fox News Digital that despite being four decades late, the patron would not have been charged a fortune.

"Before going fines-free, we charged $.25 a day for overdue items but capped the overdue fine to $5.00," Steiner explained. "So that is the most we would have charged if we still collected overdue fines."

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"Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag entered the public domain in 2024. (Omaha Public Library)

"If items do not come back, then we do charge a replacement fee for the item."

The borrower was not charged at all for the book, which predated the library's digital system.

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The library said that the A.V. Sorensen Branch received "a long-overdue book in their book drop." (Google Maps)

"We did not charge the person for this item, as it wasn't even in our patron database since it was checked out before we moved everything to computers," Steiner explained.

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