1 / 10A book checked out a half-century ago has been anonymously returned to a library in northeastern Pennsylvania, officials said.2 / 10The Wilkes-Barre Citizens’ Voice reports that the 1967 copy of “Coins You Can Collect” by Burton Hobson arrived last month at the Plymouth Public Library in Luzerne County along with a $20 bill.3 / 10An accompanying unsigned letter, written as if by the book itself, said “Fifty years ago (yes 50!), a little girl checked me out of this library in 1971. 4 / 10At this time, she didn’t know they were going to move from Plymouth. Back then, kids weren’t told things like that.5 / 10“As you can see, she took very good care of me,” the letter continued, explaining that it was packed away often for frequent moves but was “always with many other books.”6 / 10The writer, speaking in her own voice rather than as the book, then says she often intended to send the book back but somehow never got around to it.7 / 10“This became a running joke in my family. Each time we moved, they always asked me if I packed ‘the Plymouth Book,’” she wrote.The letter writer said she knew the $20 wouldn’t come close to paying the accrued fine, but suggested: “Perhaps you can pay off some fines of some kids with it.”8 / 10Library director Laura Keller said she did just that, paying “some hefty fines” of a young mother who wanted to start borrowing books again. Borrowing privileges at the library are suspended if fines exceed $5, she said.9 / 10Both letter and book will soon be on display at the library, Keller said. 10 / 10The writer’s identity remains a mystery, although she said her family and friends would know the story was about her if it was published in a local newspaper.