The 24 Year Overdue Library Book

Posted on May 3, 2005

Now that's a really overdue library book. Joel Schlesinger was rummaging through his attic when he found an old library book. He had checked it out 24 years before.

The 46 year-old northern New Jersey resident recently found the camping book he took out of an Orchard Park library in February 1981. When he called the Orchard Park Public Library and said he wanted to pay the overdue book penalty, Schlesinger was told the maximum fine was 15 dollars. But Schlesinger said he wanted to pay "for the whole thing."
The library charges a 25-cents-a-day penalty for overdue books, so he calculated that he owed nearly $2,200 for being 24 years overdue.
Library officials gladly accepted his check as a donation.

Kudos to Mr. Schlesinger for stepping up to the plate and for making such a big donation. He's lucky he's not in one of those odd jurisdictions in which you can be arrested for an overdue book, though.