A book has been returned to its library home in Massachusetts– 90 years after it was checked out. The book accrued over $600 in debt.
The Watertown Free Public Library said in a Facebook post that the book, Hill Towns of Italy by Egerton R. Williams Jr., was checked out on January 30, 1934.
The book’s journey home took longer than expected—well beyond its original two-week loan.
During its 90-year journey, the book traveled to the nation’s capital where it was found by a “distant patron” who found its rightful home in Greater Boston.
The person who found the book returned it to the public library on its way north, the library said.
The nearly century-old book fetched about $656, the library said.
“According to the policy pasted in this book, this patron will owe us [approximately] $656,” the post said.
“Luckily for them, we no longer charge late fees!”
The library said that in 1934, the library charged 2 cents for books past their expiration date.
A Pennsylvania library recently revealed that a copy of Chauncey Brewster Tinker’s classic “Beowulf” was recently returned after being checked out 54 years earlier.
The Watertown Free Public Library said in a Facebook post that the book, Hill Towns of Italy by Egerton R. Williams Jr., was checked out on January 30, 1934. Facebook/Watertown Free Public Library
According to the Sewickley Public Library, the 54-year-old book had already garnered nearly $1,000 in fines under the 5-cent-a-day policy in the late 1960s.
“Actually, we will charge the cost of this item because it has been lost for a long time. This means the borrower will owe … $0.98, which is what it cost to buy the title in the 1920s,” the social media post said.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
