When sorting books at Espoo's Sello library, Olli Myyrä discovered 2,000 euros in cash hidden between the pages of a returned book. The incident took place in April last year.
Myyrä said he had been going through books returned the previous day, a routine check to assess their condition before shelving them or sending them on to another library.
Inside a non-fiction book, he found 100-euro notes tucked between the pages. He counted twenty in total.
After realising what he had found, Myyrä said he went to work tracking down the last person who had borrowed the book.
"The patron was surprised"
Library staff can access records of the two most recent borrowers, so they contacted the last person who had checked the book out.
The borrower was asked whether anything might have been left between the pages — and, if so, what it could be.
"The patron was quite surprised when I called," laughed Myyrä.
The borrower was able to give a credible account of what had been lost and was asked to come to the library with identification.
"The customer came quite quickly to collect the money," said Myyrä's colleague Antero Pertamo.
The book containing the cash sat unsorted on a return shelf overnight after being dropped off shortly before closing. This means another customer could easily have borrowed it, according to Myyrä.
Why the money was tucked inside the book remains unclear. Was it simply used as a bookmark?
For privacy reasons, the librarians would not reveal the explanation, even though the customer told them.
"But it wasn't there as a bookmark — it was there for another reason. That much I can reveal," Myyrä said.
This was not the first time cash has been found inside books at the Sello library, though such large sums are rare.
"That said, we can't be sure we've found all the money. Some books with cash in them may have been checked out by the next patron," Myyrä added.
In such cases, the return of the money would depend on the honesty of whoever finds it.
