In a surprising turn of events, the West Virginia University Libraries in the US recently received a collection of book donations, and among them was a remarkable discovery. This book had been borrowed from another library 141 years ago.
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Surprisingly, the book was due to be returned on December 10, 1903, making it 119 years overdue.
This unexpected discovery surprised the library staff because they had never expected to come across such a historic artifact.
A book titled “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” by James Clerk Maxwell was borrowed from the New Bedford Free Public Library in Massachusetts. The book, published in 1882, still bore the library’s “retired” label, indicating its ownership.
It’s worth noting that this book on electricity was published just three years after the first light bulb was invented in 1879.
Among a collection of donated books, Stewart Plein, Curator of Rare Books at West Virginia University Libraries, discovered this remarkable find.
Plein contacted the New Bedford Free Public Library and promptly returned his long-overdue book. On June 22, the New Bedford Library shared photos of the produced book on its Facebook page, joking, “It’s never too late to return an overdue library book!”
According to WBOY 12 News, the New Bedford Public Library has set a late fee limit of $2 (roughly Rs. 164). However, if the library were to charge the standard late fee of five cents per day for the book, the late fee would amount to a staggering $2,483 (approximately Rs 2 lakh).
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Source: vtt.edu.vn