A book that should have been returned 64 years ago has been brought back to the Richland Public Library in Washington state. Despite the record-long overdue period, the borrower will not have to pay a fine because the library eliminated such fees in 2022. Interestingly, the conscientious citizen who returned the book still has another overdue title, which he promised to bring back once he finishes reading it.
The book was found by a man who inherited a friend's personal library. Discovering several clearly library-owned volumes with very long overdue records among the books, he immediately returned one of them. Library staff, who are now preparing to celebrate the institution's 75th anniversary, were genuinely pleased by the unexpected "return." They noted that in past decades the late fee could range from 5 to 25 cents per day.
The return of a book that had been listed as lost since 1962 became a symbolic gift for the library's anniversary. One social media user even calculated that if the old rules were still in effect, the fine for 64 years of lateness could have been around $3,250. Fortunately for the borrower, librarians are now happy to receive any returned books, regardless of how long they've been overdue.
Based on: Overdue Richland library book returned 63 years late