Never too late to return what you took, says university

"It's never too late to return a library book... even after 60 years" - that is the message to University of Cambridge students after a Spanish grammar book was finally back on the shelf after decades languishing in a loft.

The Gramatica Castellana volume, first published in 1492, disappeared from Cambridge University Library in the 1960s and could have incurred a fine of about £4,000 - but the library will not be charging a fee.

It is not the only book or other item that has gone missing from the university and returned late, with others including a room key and an elaborate stolen clock hand.

However, the 60-year-overdue Spanish book is small fry compared with a German book borrowed from Sidney Sussex College - which holds the Guinness World Record for the most overdue at 288 years.

The library used the much-overdue return of the 1946 edition of the Castilian language book to highlight that it was never too late to return something you might have forgotten about.

"This book recently came back to the library after six decades out in the wild," they wrote on Facebook.

It was found by a man clearing a friend's loft - and was returned to the library earlier this month.

Staff also reminded students there was a freepost returns service available.

One of the more notable "returns" to the library was in 2022 when two leather-bound notebooks by Charles Darwin - worth millions of pounds - were mysteriously and anonymously returned in a pink gift bag.

The books, which included the scientist's "tree of life" sketch, had been missing for more than 20 years and a worldwide appeal was launched for their return as they were assumed to have been stolen.

Their return was greeted with joy, and a note on a brown envelope in the package simply said: "Librarian, Happy Easter X."

Also returned 60 years late by a former university student was a copy of Cultures and Societies of Africa.

It was finally returned in 2019 and the library promised to waive the fine, which based on the rate of £1.50 a week at the time, would have been almost £4,700.

A 19th Century atlas, borrowed by a Trinity Hall undergraduate in the 1970s, was left at the college library after a reunion in 2021.

Described as "rare", it contained more than 160 engraved maps which reflected a time when the British Empire was expanding, and included 11 detailed maps of India showing the areas under British control and a map showing British North America.

The library said at the time that at an average rate of 20p per day, the fine for the book's late return would have been roughly £3,000, had they wanted to pursue it.

But the Guinness World Record for an overdue library book goes to Cambridge's Sidney Sussex College with a book returned a whopping 288 years after it was due back.

Scriptores rerum Germanicarum septentrionalium, vicinorumque populorum diversi - a German history book - was borrowed by Col Robert Walpole in about 1667 or 1668.

It was discovered when Walpole's biographer was going through papers - and he duly returned it to Sidney Sussex in 1956.

Aside from library books, other items have also been returned (very late) to university colleges over the years.

In the 1930s, two students replaced the ornate hands of the chapel clock at Gonville and Caius College with cardboard replicas - in a prank that worked well until it rained and they started to disintegrate.

At the time, the college replaced the hands as the pranksters had kept one each, but the daughter of one "thief" returned it in 2024 and it now sits in the college archive.

Still at Caius, as it is known (and pronounced "keys"), an American student returned her room key to the college in 2025, 40 years after accidentally taking it back to the USA with her.

The error would usually have incurred an initial £10 fine with interest of £10 per week added on top, but four decades later than planned, the woman returned it during a trip to the UK and was relieved to know the college decided to waive the £20,000 fine.

In light of the above, the University Library reminded students that items could be returned at any time, adding: "Don't panic, and please don't wait until 2086."

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.