Libraries across the United States have been easing and eradicating late fees for library materials for years. As a result, so many books and more have been finding their way back home, including one in New England that was almost 50,000 days overdue.
Concord Public Library in Concord, New Hampshire, recently shared an incredible story on Facebook about a returned overdue book that is blowing our minds.
On September 1, the library declared a year-long amnesty on overdue fines, with plans to evaluate the effects of a “fine-free library”. When a local resident named John learned of the fine freeze, he decided to return a magazine to the library that had been in his house for decades—so long that he had no idea how it ended up there. Considering its age and how long it had been checked out, it could have been there for a long, long time.
The September 1894 issue of “The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine” that John returned was 48,220 days—or 132 years—overdue. Even more astonishing is what the late fee would have been: $12,055. Thankfully, John won’t have to pay it.
The library said it won’t be placing the magazine back into circulation, but it may have a place in its Concord Room which contains non-circulating books, maps, documents, records, photographs, and ephemera that document the city’s history.
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Feature image: John with the 1894 magazine he returned to Concord Public Library, courtesy of Concord Public Library.
