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Library Book Overdue for 150 Years Finally Resurfaces
Newser • • world
Key Points:
- A late return fine for an overdue book from 1872 would amount to about $19,500 today, based on the original three pence-a-week fee, but the final borrower cannot be identified due to lost records.
- Library rules from the 1870s required overdue debts to be paid before borrowing new books, which may explain why the book was never returned.
- Historical borrowing regulations included limits based on household literacy and prohibitions on lending to intoxicated individuals, unlike the more general behavioral guidelines in place today.
- The book, marked No. 506 in the original collection, suffered water damage and was likely lost shortly after the library opened; it will now be displayed in the local history collection and will not be lent out again.
