As readers, we have all flipped through books for various reasons. Most flip to find out what the book might be about. Others open a book to read it. But over time libraries have found a few ‘unusual’ items.
Wedsworth has found a few, but nothing like the stories you are about to hear. We did find an old hard-boiled egg under one of the bookshelves when we were moving into the new addition. Guess the Easter Bunny must have got lost that year.
Most things do go better with a book, especially meals, baths, and country picnics. Apparently, many people agree—and they take it a bit too far. Here are just a few of the nicer things that have been found in library books over time, but that we probably don’t want to find.
Libraries have found laundry, old desiccated lunches, and an apple core or two. Books appear to make great keepsakes for products of nature. Librarians have opened returned books to find pressed flowers, four-leaf clovers, dandelions gone to seed, and whole marijuana leaves. (No one got arrested, that we know of.)
Pressed flowers and locks of hair seemed much more common in collections dating before 1930, back in the days when flowers from the favorite beau were preserved.
One library found a flattened, dry strawberry in a book. It is noted that it had been preserved quite nicely. “It surprisingly just left a light red kiss inside the book!”
One library employee recounts, “I once had a book with a note indicating that the back inside cover needed attention. When I opened the back cover, I found a partial, flattened, little red snake.”
Unwanted items such as some of the above can create a bit of a problem. “The items that will cause the most damage over time include organic items which can cause staining, eat away at the paper, attract pests, or encourage mold growth,” “Leaves, food, and newsprint seem to be the common things seen.”
Apparently valuables make great bookmarks. One library almost got a bit lucky. However, they were kind and generous. “One time I found $100 in 20s. It was quite a large amount of money to be hidden in a book. I located the patron who last checked out the book and after some questioning, I verified he was indeed the one who left the $100 behind.” Others have reported finding credit cards, lottery tickets, Broadway show tickets, and even live paychecks.
Then again there are those who leave a bit of a ‘romantic’ bit of themselves behind. “As I was going through book donations, I noticed one book had a large amount of papers sticking out of it. I pulled the papers out and after reading through some of them, I quickly realized they were either sexual letters written to a woman or someone was working on some serious erotica for a future book. The details were pretty graphic so I had to toss them in the trash pretty quickly.”
Librarians have found genuine love letters, a list of “karma violations,” a visitor registration form for the county jail, divorce agreements, and even naughty photos. Guess that all makes for some interesting reading.
Then again history can come knocking at the door when one library found a bit of history. “One time I opened a donated book and there was a letter in there from a woman to a family thanking them for helping her learn to play music. The letter was very old so I decided to research the name of the woman who wrote the letter. It turns out she had become a famous musician!”
What you do in your private reading time sometimes ends up in public. Imagine picking up a returned book and having something like this fall out: a glass vial labeled “smallpox sample.” A little scary and unbelievable. After all, sharp objects and books should probably not go together, and yet librarians have found scissors, knives, a cheese slicer, and even a small hatchet.
Eating and reading are a natural combo, which is why snacks are a popular bookmark. We’re talking Cheetos (mostly crumbled), a pickle slice, a Pop-Tart, a Kraft Single (still wrapped), and even whole strips of bacon (both cooked and raw).
One library once found a single page typewritten informational sheet from the 1940s from the United States Secret Service about how to recognize counterfeit banknotes tucked inside a book from the 1990s about the Secret Service. A Korean war army supply list for a company of soldiers was once discovered. Important paperwork is often found being used as bookmarks. Lease agreements, medical information, bills, a copy of a death certificate, a boy’s tube sock.
Here is an interesting piece of letter/note: “Dear so-and-so, I’ve always felt that God was leading me toward a close friendship with you. As a fellow man of God, I know you will forgive me for waiting so long to follow through. And now that we’re friends, I have a favor to ask.” It ended before he got to what the favor was.
One of the least pleasant experiences has to be a full set of toenail clippings found in a book. But then there were the Cheetos smashed inside a book. All interesting bookmarks, but rather not discovered.
The NICEST thing found AT the Library is the beautiful rose the Garden Club gifted us to celebrate National Garden Club Week. What wonderful ladies. If you see one of these wonderful ladies about town, thank them immensely. They have planted their lovely barrels of flowers to brighten up our town and make it ever so special. They do such a great job and deserve a lot of praise for their efforts. More power to you!!