A library in Ohio recently got back its copy of Bob Dylan’s 1970 album Self Portrait – 48 years after the due date.
Howard Simon was a 14-year-old eighth grader when he borrowed the record in early 1973 from the University Heights branch of Heights Libraries. The retiree found the library’s copy of the album in his vinyl collection, sandwiched between Dylan’s Nashville Skyline and New Morning.
Simon returned the record to the library with a note explaining its poor condition. "This particular album has moved with me (in succession) from University Heights to Chicago, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Berkeley, back to Chicago, back to Berkeley, again to Chicago, Sacramento, and finally San Francisco. I’m pleased it’s survived at all.”
Howard Simon. Courtesy Howard Simon via Heights Libraries
Approximately 17,480 days overdue (“it’s quite late, and I’m quite sorry!,” he wrote), the album could have been subject to late fees of $1,748 US. But library manager Sara Philips said, in a release, that the library did away with late fees.
“As long as we get the item back, we see no need to penalize people,” she explained.
Simon did, however, enclose $175 US (“a tithe, if you will”) as well as a copy of his own album, Western Reserve.
And, yes, the musician hopes the library will add it to its collection.