A Florida woman’s life was forever changed when she returned a library book one Friday afternoon in July.
Barbara "Bobbie" Haverly’s middle finger on her left hand was chopped off above the top knuckle as she dropped the checked-out book into the drop box.
The freak accident unfolded July 28 around 12:30 p.m. at the W.T. Bland Public Library in Mount Dora. Haverly described to KTVU what happened that day, with the hopes of getting the word out and preventing others from getting injured.
"It was a busy afternoon at the library," she said. "There was a line of people waiting to check out books and lots of children around in the newly designed kids’ area."
Haverly dropped the book into the box and the swinging metal door snapped back, trapping her hand. She realized her left middle finger was stuck on the other side of the flap.
"I was in shock," she said. "It hit an artery, so there was blood squirting everywhere."
A registered nurse, Haverly knew she had to get the detached portion of her finger from the box and put it on ice.
Haverly said she took her fingertip with her to the hospital, where she underwent surgery and ultimately spent three days. Unfortunately, they were unable to reattach her finger, due to multiple severed nerve endings.
She said the doctors and nurses who treated her couldn't believe what they saw.
"They thought I must have cut myself with a knife, not returned a book to the library," Haverly said.
An avid reader, Haverly has been going to this library for over 30 years. She has returned books to this drop box located inside the building, next to the circulation desk, several times before.KTVU reached out to the library for comment but hasn’t heard back.
Library staff apparently created an incident report, but Haverly has not seen it. She recalls one staff member saying nothing like this has happened in the 14 years the box has been there.
The library box that severed Bobbie Haverly's finger on July 28, 2023. The "out of order" sign was placed after the incident.