Bob Dylan LP Gets Returned To Library After 48 Years

He Even Sent A Fee

A San Francisco man returned a long-lost copy of Bob Dylan’s controversial 1970 double album, Self Portrait, to a library in Ohio.

Howard Simon, an eighth grader at Wiley Middle School in Cleveland Heights in 1973, checked out the record and it was supposed to be returned in June that year. According to him, he found the double LP in between two other Dylan albums in his collection. Upon its return, he included a letter of apology.

“As a recent retiree, I am taking the opportunity to turn my attention to some of the many vignettes of life that by dint of career and family have been neglected these many years,” he wrote. “I am returning with the letter an overdue item by my count, approximately 17,480 days overdue as of this writing.”

He did admit that the album “isn’t in great shape” as it traveled with him from University Heights to San Francisco with several stops in between. He also sent a $175 for the overdue return which he called “a tithe, if you will” and a copy of his own album Western Reserve.

“The funny thing about this is that we don’t charge overdue fines any more,” branch manager Sara Phillips said. “As long as we get the item back, we see no need to penalize people. We’re grateful that Mr Simon returned the record. I’d said we can now call it even.”