Did you get your vehicle fixed? Repair manual was missing from library for 44 years
There are plenty of books in the library about missing things and missing people, so this story is not unusually interesting.
Still, it's a whodunit.
How did a fairly thick book about automotive repair go missing in 1979 and resurface only recently at the city of Abilene's water department?
Is Hercule Poirot available?
This thriller, or not, began Monday, with a call from the city department. A library book had been found.
"Chilton's Auto Repair Manual: 1954-1963."
Certainly a must-read in its day. Like Lee Child today.
It was retrieved Tuesday by Janet Bailey, technical services manager at the Abilene Public Library.
It may, or may not, have been checked out 44 years ago.
"It has been gone a long time," said Bailey, who doesn't have an inmistakable moustache to twitch, like Poirot.
Books disappear. It's fact with a library. After awhile, most vanishing volumes are not expected to be returned.
But did anyone know this tome was missing?
There is "Haskell" written in pencil on a card inside. And the date: 3-7-79.
Hmmm ... a person? The city?
Bailey said there is no indication it was checked out. It might have been borrowed by someone working for the city of Abilene, perhaps wanting to fix a city-owned vehicle.
It may have been discarded and found a home at the water department office.
This could be the perfect "crime," one that may not be solved.
If it was checked out and not returned, the accumulated fine would total $1,600. The library once charged 10 cents a day for an overdue book, and that fee did not change until the local library system did away with fines.
Which is fine, because fines no longer are a money-maker. Due to increased use of digital books - those that can be read on, say, an iPad or enjoyed as an audiobook - people are not late. Those cut off when due.
You snooze while reading, you lose.
So, no one is paying a hefty fine.
And what will become of this suddenly famous book?
"Well ...," Bailey began. "It probably will be thrown out."
Poirot would be shocked.
"Ce n'est pas le cas!"
"It is moldy," Bailey said. Indeed, it did have an aroma, and not madam's perfume.
Or even an oily rag from the garage.
The mystery offers a reminder to those who partake of the annual June book sale. Be careful not to mix books you check out with books you buy. Yes, those abandoned by the library are marked but still could get in the wrong stack at home.
A book may never make it back to the library, maybe end up at an estate sale. And someone else then becomes an accomplice in the "crime."
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Get your vehicle fixed? Repair manual missing from library for 44 years
