Bre Avery Zacharski
Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Howard Simon was in the 8th grade when he took out a Bob Dylan “Self Portrait” album from the University Heights Library.
Howard forgot to return the album back to the library after he borrowed it in 1973, but it always remained in his possession.
Over the years, Howard moved from University Heights to Chicago. Then he moved to Santa Fe, Los Angeles, and Berkeley.
Next, he made it back to Chicago, then returned to Berkeley, before moving again to Chicago.
Finally, his last two stops were Sacramento and San Francisco, where he currently lives. The entire time, that Bob Dylan album made those moves with him.
University Heights Library; pictured above is Sara Phillips, the manager of the University Heights Libraries, along with the long-overdue album Howard borrowed in 1973
At some point, Howard realized the album was in his collection, so he decided to send it back to the library after 48 years of having it in his possession.
“Sara Phillips, manager of the University Heights branch of Heights Libraries, was having a routine day when an oddly shaped package arrived in the mail,” Heights Libraries explained in an Instagram post.
Sara said, “I got a package in the mail from San Francisco that was record-shaped and – lo and behold! – it contained a record from our collection that was due back in June 1973.”
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