Overdue Book Returned To US Library 119 Years Later

The New Bedford Free Public Library shared the pictures of the returned book on their Facebook page

A book on the development of electricity has finally been returned. James Clerk Maxwell’s “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” was checked out in 1904 from the New Bedford Free Public Library in Massachusetts. The book was published in 1882.

The book made its way to a donation pile in West Virginia, nearly 900 miles from its home. According to New York Post, the curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, Steward Plein, plucked the centuries-old science book from the charity bin and noticed that it still had its “withdrawn” sticker intact which meant it was still the library’s property.

Mr Plein reached out to the New Bedford Free Public Library and mailed their book to them.

The New Bedford Free Public Library shared the pictures of the returned book on their Facebook page and wrote, “It’s never too late to return an overdue library book! Today, West Virginia University’s Rare Books Curator found in their donations one of our Special Collection’s materials- a book that was checked out nearly 120 years ago!”

“The book is titled “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” by James Clerk Maxwell and has made the journey back home to #NewBedford,” the caption read.

The New Bedford library has a 5-cent-per-day late fee, meaning the 119 years of overdue fees would amount to more than $2,100 if the late fee didn’t max out at $2, reported New York Post.