Erasmus of Rotterdam has finally returned to Penn State.

An early edition text by the theologian was published in 1645 in Amsterdam and had been absent from Penn State library shelves since before the creation of the university's special collections department.

The special collections department houses Penn State's rare books and gives them special care and protection.

University libraries spokeswoman Catherine Grigor discovered on Dec. 17 that the book had been returned. She said the book, overdue for 57 years, was probably returned last year by Kathryn King, the daughter of the late Donald King. Over the course of 20 years, Donald King translated the Latin text and published it under the title "On Copia of Words and Ideas" in 1963.

The book is a work Grigor called "invaluable to scholars" as a historical reference.

A late fee was not charged.