32 Years Later – Book Returned to Albany School Library

A book on birds has come back home to roost at the Albany Middle School library after what may be a record bout of playing hooky.

As principal at the school, Peter Parenti is accustomed to being confronted with unusual and unexpected conundrums.

But perhaps few are as out-of-the-ordinary as the recent package that arrived in the mail with no return address.

"I opened up the envelope, and the first thing I saw was the photo of this crazy bird," he said, referring to a large photo of a colorful, crested bird on the cover of a book inside the package. Nothing but the book was enclosed.

"I thought somebody was sending me a message about a bird," he said.

He quickly discovered that the book – volume 8 of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom – was stamped inside as property of the Albany Middle School library and that, unlike today's library's books, still carried a pouch inside the cover for a check-out slip.

The slip was in the pouch, and the last date on the slip was May 19, 1981 – when Ronald Reagan's Presidency was but four months old.

"The principal brought it to me," said school librarian Linda Perez. "There was no return address. There was no note in it. So we figured somebody was just cleaning out the house."

The book arrived at the school on May 10, but who sent it is a mystery.

The check-out slip includes the names of the students who borrowed the book, in their own handwriting. The last name on the slip is difficult to read. The first letter of the first name appears to be "A," while the first letter of the last name appears to be "D," or perhaps "P."

Perez said the library has no record of the book and that she wasn't sure what the school will do with it. The book is a bit dated, copyright 1970/1971.

"It's in really good shape," she said.

Parenti fantasized about what the school could do with 32 years worth of overdue fine.

"It's a fascinating concept to do the math and figure out what we could buy with fine," he joked. "But we don't do overdue fines anymore."

Whoever sent it back obviously knew that the Middle School had moved since the book was checked out. When the book was acquired, the school shared a building with Albany High at the same location where the current high school stands on Key Route Boulevard. In 1981, when the book was last checked out, the Middle School was on Jackson Street, where Ocean View Elementary School is now housed, before moving to its current home on Brighton Avenue next to the BART tracks.

And exactly when was the book due back?

"This was actually a book that was supposed to be out for only one night," Perez said, noting that the check-out slip says, "OVERNIGHT USE ONLY!!!"

"To me, that was the funniest part."

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Correction: The original version of this article incorrectly said the Middle School shared quarters with Albany High on Key Route Boulevard in 1981. The article has been corrected.