No penalty for man who returned UBC library book 64 years late

An Edgewood, B.C., man is being commended for his thoughtful maintenance of a library book that he returned to the University of B.C. this January — nearly 65 years after he took it out.

Robert Murray took out his copy of a 1931 edition of Camping and Woodcraft: Handbook for vacation campers and for travelers in the wilderness by Horace Kephart in 1960, towards the end of his second year of electrical engineering at UBC. 

The now 83-year-old former train worker said the book offered much practical advice and remains one of his favourites, and he kept it because of how much value it held, having been written around the turn of the century before modern camping equipment came about.

But nearly 65 years after he took it out in May 1960, he sent it back along with a letter, a $100 cheque that he expected would cover his late fees and a newspaper clipping of someone returning the same book to a Prince George library after three decades in 2014.

Murray was relieved to hear that, while the UBC library had done away with late fees in 2020, his donation would be put to use covering other backlogged fees at the university.

"I had done a week calculation of what two cents a day for 60 some years at three per cent [inflation] would work out to, and I didn't like the answer at all," the retiree told CBC News.

"It's a generous donation, I guess, now because I just learned that the UBC library has foregone overdue payments," he added.

In the letter to the university, Murray said the book was a "treasure" and likely saved his and his son's life while out in the backcountry.

He has since bought a new copy of the book on Amazon, and said that the lessons in Kephart's book showed the "difference between the guy who knew what he was talking about and a bunch of wannabes."

Librarian said return caused stir

Susan Parker, the university librarian, said she came to the office in January this year to find Murray's carefully wrapped package and letter.

She told CBC News that the package caused a major stir in the library as staff were amazed at how unique the situation was, and the book would eventually go back into circulation given its quality.

"I was a bit surprised because usually when things are away that long, people don't return them," she said. "Or if they do return them, it's quite anonymous.

"I've been working in libraries for almost that long, 40 years myself, and I haven't seen a book returned after this long," she added.

Parker says she advises anyone in a situation like Murray's to not wait for six and a half decades and that they could talk to their library if they're worried about late fees.

"We want the books back," she said. "We want to be able to share them with everyone, and we want you to feel comfortable coming to the library and not feel bad or guilty about it."

Book helped form emotional moment

Murray said that he read the book multiple times over the years. The avid camper was regularly out in the bush until about the year 2000. He said the practical advice in the book helped him form a bonding moment with his son David.

While he was in his 50s, he said he and his son got lost on a rainy day in June in the B.C. Interior. The Edgewood man's silver prospector compass and Omega watch were both damaged, and they couldn't find the trail they set out to hike.

While his son eventually thought to put up a tent, Murray said his knowledge of the book told him that a tent would be useless in that weather — and then, helped him advise his son on how to avoid hypothermia.

"He got pretty cold, and I told him to — he was just sitting by the fire — to take off his clothes," Murray said, laughing. "You should have seen his face."

But Murray knew from the book that his son's wet clothes would wick away heat from his body.

After his son took off his clothes and warmed them by a fire, Murray said they were eventually able to go back the next day after eating stew they made in the field.

"I believe it could easily serve as a text or excellent reference for any study ... of North American wilderness living," Murray wrote in his letter.