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Library book returned 65 years later

The person who checked out George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" said they believes others would benefit from reading the book in this day and age.
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A person who checked out a book from a library in 1958 has finally returned it. 

The Multnomah County Library in Oregon posted an image of the book, George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four," on Facebook, along with a letter that accompanied it.

"I meant to return this book in 1956 when I [was] about to graduate from PSU, but somehow never got around to doing it," the letter signed by WP says. 

"Nineteen Eighty-Four" is Orwell's prophetic novel about the future. It depicts a world where the government controls ever aspect of a person's life — by surveillance, propaganda and censorship.

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The person who originally checked out the book said they believed others should be reading the book in this day and age. 

"After re-reading, I realize that more than ever, this book should be put back in circulation," the letter states. "Significant parts are relevant today as they were 65 years ago."

The library said there's no doubt that this book was checked out decades ago, as it still has the Library Association of Portland stamp on the pages.

In addition to wanting to share the book with others, the person said they had another motive for returning it. 

"Sorry to be so tardy," they wrote. "At age 86, I wanted to finally clear my conscience."

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