Photo of the returned books.

Good news in this report from School Library Journal, “Phoenix, AZ, high school librarian Georgette Bordine, recently received a surprise package in the mail containing two books belonging to the Camelback High School library “which were 51 years overdue.”

The package contained two Audubon Society books and an anonymous letter from a member of the graduating class of 1959. And most surprisingly of all, it contained a check for $1,000 USD.

According to the SLJ report, the letter read, in part, “I’ve enclosed a money order to cover my delinquency dues. At 0.02 cents per day it works out at $745.00 for 51 years. I’ve sent along a few more dollars in case the rates changed.”

The story is, the student had moved as a kid, took the books with him inadvertently, and only discovered them recently among his parents possessions.

Something about Camelback High inspires students to do the right thing. Bordine says this is the second time she received an unexpected payment for materials. “‘I got a letter (three years ago) and a check in the mail for somewhere between $75 and $100 from a man who had been going through a 12-step program and wanted to make good the fact that he had stolen a book from the library back in 1962,'” she told the SLJ.

High school marks you for life.