overdue book

14 Stories

Library Comes Up With Purrfect Way to Forgive Lost Books

Worcester Public Library in Massachusetts is granting amnesty if you bring in cat pics

(Newser) - A Massachusetts library has implemented a temporary—and arguably purrfect—forgiveness program for those who've lost or damaged materials they've borrowed. The New York Times reports on the "March Meowness" initiative currently happening at the Worcester Public Library: For this month only, borrowers whose library cards have...

Book Borrowed in 1919 Finally Returns to Library

'Famous Composers Vol. 1' had already cheated destruction once

(Newser) - If the St. Paul Public Library was that way, somebody would be facing a major penalty for returning a book 103 years late, the city's mayor joked. "At the 1919 rate of a penny per day, that would have been a $36k fine," tweeted Melvin Carter, whose...

Library on Surprise Return: 'Do We Have a Story for You'

Book overdue for 44 years, $20 check turns up in the mail at Deschutes Public Library in Oregon

(Newser) - Life moves fast, so you may not be aware that Saturday is the last day of Return Borrowed Books Week . One library in Oregon has some news to share on that topic. "Do we have a story for you," reads a Wednesday Facebook post from the Deschutes Public...

Librarians Stunned by Book Due More Than a Century Ago

'New Chronicles of Rebecca' turns up in Boise after 110 years

(Newser) - A book returned to an Idaho library was so long overdue that there was no record of it in the catalog. The book, New Chronicles of Rebecca, a sequel to the classic Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, was originally checked out from the Carnegie Public Library in Boise in 1910. It...

Book Is Back in Library After 50 Years

Woman sends $20 toward the fine

(Newser) - A book checked out a half-century ago has been anonymously returned to a library in northeastern Pennsylvania, officials said. The 1967 copy of Coins You Can Collect by Burton Hobson arrived last month at the Plymouth Public Library in Luzerne County along with a $20 bill, the AP reports. An...

Library Book Returned 47 Years Overdue
Library Book Is Back,
47 Years Late
May 13, 2018 5:00 PM CDT

Library Book Is Back, 47 Years Late

The copy of Eldridge Cleaver's memoir Soul On Ice was due Dec. 9, 1970

(Newser) - A book nearly five decades overdue has been returned to the San Francisco Public Library, the AP reports. The copy of Eldridge Cleaver's memoir Soul On Ice was due back at the Eureka Valley branch Dec. 9, 1970, making it 47 years, four months, and 29 days late. The...

Book Returned to Library 100 Years Late

Man's great-grandmother had checked out 'Forty Minutes Late' (no joke) in 1917

(Newser) - A book of short stories titled Forty Minutes Late has been returned to the San Francisco Public Library—100 years late, the AP reports. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bay Area resident Webb Johnson returned the book Friday. There was no fine. Johnson's great-grandmother had checked it out...

Library Could Start Jailing People for Overdue Books

'We're doing it for the community'

(Newser) - One Alabama library isn't messing around when it comes to overdue books. The News Courier reports the Athens-Limestone Public Library is going to start taking advantage of an old city ordinance that could lead to jail time for people who don't return their copy of Harry Potter. Library...

After 60 Years, Entomologist Returns Library's Bug Book

He must really love moths

(Newser) - A Purdue University entomology professor has returned a copy of The Moths of the Limberlost that he checked out 60 years ago at age 8, the AP reports. According to Indiana's WTWO-TV , Larry Murdock checked out the book from the Linton Public Library in in 1956. He says he...

Overdue Library Book Returned to School After 50 Years

The student forgot about it when he joined the Marines

(Newser) - A library book overdue by nearly 50 years has been returned to a university library in southwest Ohio, the AP reports. The University of Dayton says a former student who borrowed History of the Crusades in 1967 has sent it back with an apology for the late return. The university...

Overdue Books Finally Returned 52 Years Later

'I'll let you decide their fate now'

(Newser) - Portland State University librarians in Oregon finally got their hands on two overdue books—half a century after they were checked out. The Oregonian reports that someone put two books checked out in 1963 for a high-school speech class into a book drop, accompanied by an anonymous, handwritten note. The...

High School Library Book Returned 65 Years Late

$470 fine waived for 'Gone With the Wind'

(Newser) - If Betty Mandershied is still alive, she no longer needs to worry about a huge library fine waiting for her—although frankly, she may not give a damn. The copy of Gone With the Wind she checked out of a high school library in Spokane, Wash., in early 1949 has...

Woman Jailed for Overdue Twilight Book

Lori Teel owed almost $36, now plans legal action

(Newser) - In Portales, New Mexico, library fines are no laughing matter, as one mother of five learned after racking up $35.98 in overdue charges for a double dose of Twilight in book and movie form. Lori Teel couldn't remember borrowing the material in 2010, but law enforcement apparently hadn'...

Overdue Books Return —51 Years Late
 Overdue Books Return 
 —51 Years Late  
guilty conscience dept.
Nov 15, 2009 2:32 PM CST

Overdue Books Return —51 Years Late

(Newser) - An Arizona high school librarian got the surprise of her career when she opened a package and found a letter from a former student, two books checked out in 1958—and a money order for $1,000 to cover the overdue-book fines. The books, Community of Living Things: Forests and ...

14 Stories
Most Read on Newser