Returning seriously overdue library materials

[Extollager]

This

Beatles fan sends 1968 Life magazine back to public library he stole it from as a kid

is a charming story.

But the painful irony is that -- I'll bet! -- the library probably discarded all those old magazines years ago. The magazine that the patron returned might be put on display for its human interest (and Beatle interest). But if patrons are prompted by the display to ask about looking at copies of old magazines, they probably will be disappointed.

Btw, when my university threw out most of its magazine archive in 2010, that was one of the issues I rescued.

Your stories of library materials returned, etc.?

 

[OHB]

EBSCOhost has digitized Life magazines from 1936 to 2000. (You can also find a lot of Life magazines through Google Books.) Most libraries use EBSCOhost's electronic databases, so they do still provide access to those old magazines, just in digital form rather than print copies.

 

[farntfar]

I thought I was the only one to wake up in the middle of the night, in a panic of guilt about something I'd done to a school friend 45 years ago, but clearly not.