B.C. resident returns library book 64 years later, credits it for saving lives

Book returned 64 years later

Photo: The Canadian Press

Robert Murray is shown on his travels during his youth in an undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Robert Murray,

An 83-year-old British Columbia man has returned a book to the University of B.C. Library 64 years late, but he had a good excuse.

Librarian Susan Parker received a package from Robert Murray in the mail with the book, a $100 cheque for late fees and an explanation.

Murray's letter says the book, a 1931 edition of "Camping and Woodcraft: Handbook for vacation campers and for travelers in the wilderness," by Horace Kephart, is a "treasure" and likely saved his and his son's life.

He borrowed the handbook as a second-year electrical engineering student in the early 1960s and read it multiple times over the years, saying the book "could easily serve as a text or excellent reference" for North American wilderness living.

Murray relayed in the letter that when he was in his 50s, he took his younger son on a mountain hike but a faulty compass and a soaking from an intense rainstorm forced them to set up a lean-to, but the book saved them from hypothermia.

He says in an interview that while he believed it was time for the book to be returned, he never felt guilty about having it for so long because it had only been borrowed once in the 10 years before he took it out.

The library says in a statement that the book was returned in good condition and will soon be going back into circulation despite it's "many adventures."

“Although he returned it six decades late, he was an ideal library book caretaker,” Parker says. “I’ve seen books deteriorated more that were loaned out for much shorter periods of time, and even found a book where they had clearly used a piece of bacon as a bookmark.”

The university's library eliminated overdue fines in 2020, so Murray's cheque will be put toward other backlogged fees.