A Massachusetts man has returned long overdue books that were checked out in the 1920s and 1930s to the Somerville Public Library.
Bob Alvarez, 63, found the books in the basement of his Methuen home in a wooden box, The Boston Globe reported on Thursday.
The books were stored in a wooden box in the attic of the family’s Somerville home until it was sold in 2010. Alvarez moved the box and other items into his basement and never examined the contents until June.
The books belonged to his late aunt, Helen Godimis, who died in 1937 at the age of 16 from the flu, the newspaper reported.
She left behind 39 books. Some of them were from Somerville schools, some from the library and others were apparently from his aunt’s personal collection. The oldest books had copyrights from the 19th century.
When he found the books, Alvarez contacted the library, saying “I’ve got some overdue books, am I talking to the right people?”
Alvarez will not be charged late fees as the library stopped charging the fees as of July 1.
Some of the returned books are currently on display at the West Branch of the library with a note explaining how the books made their way back decades after they were checked out.
The Associated Press contributed to this article