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Man Returns Library Magazine 132 Years Late, Avoids $12,055 Fine
The patron avoided a $12,055 fine after the library’s yearlong fee freeze brought back a magazine that was 48,220 days overdue.
John Hanson, an 84-year-old Barrington resident, returned the September 1894 issue of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine to the Concord Public Library in New Hampshire last week, 132 years after it was first checked out.
Hanson, a Concord native, discovered the periodical during a 1966 move from Boscawen to Barrington and decided to return it after learning about a one-year fine freeze announced by the Concord Monitor.
Archivist Jennifer Needham recalled surprise when Hanson arrived at the circulation desk with the envelope. She noted the edition contained an article on urban playgrounds that was 'really interesting' from the late 19th century.
In theory, Hanson would have owed a $12,055 fine for being 48,220 days overdue, but the library waived the fee because it was in the midst of a one-year fine freeze designed to encourage patron returns.
The library will not return the magazine to circulation; instead, staff plan to place the rare 1894 edition in the Concord Room, where city-related archival materials are displayed for the public.
On 9 September, a resident of New Hampshire, in the United States, returned a book to his municipal library... 132 years late. He was motivated by the fines freeze launched by his local library and thus escapes a theoretical bill of 10,500 euros.