This library whodunit is straight from the pages of a book
Someone perfectly removed one word from a children’s library book – and borrowers are coming up with their own theories.
When a librarian found a note about a damaged book she assumed it had been ripped.
But when she turned to page 51 to see the problem for herself she discovered a single word had been perfectly cut out – with care not to damage the rest of the book.
“You never know what’s going to come across your desk,” Ayer Library in Massachusetts wrote in a Facebook post.
Staff had been alerted to the damage by a borrower at its partner library in nearby Holden.
“We had a book returned back to us from the Holden library with a lovely note saying that a patron had reported that a word was cut out.
“Assuming they meant the book was ripped we opened it up to assess the damage. And lo and behold, there it was. A perfectly neat cut, with care taken not to damage any other pages. And one word missing. You could feel the curiosity coursing through the Children’s Room.”
“Holden had a fully intact copy on their shelves, and with some help from an equally excited and curious librarian, we learned the truth. ‘Excellent’. The missing word is excellent. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting, but it wasn’t that.”
Fans of the library are plotting their own mystery stories about why it happened and what it means.
“Maybe someone was putting together a ransom note!” said Elisa Krochmalnyckyj.
Others thought it was for a craft project, a treasure hunt or just a “bored kid playing with a new pen knife”.
Mandy Wonson Clark said: “I hate to laugh at damage to a library book, but the word choice is just too funny!”
