NEW YORK POST
A classic novel was returned to a Colorado library more than 100 years overdue – with fines that would have been in the thousands of dollars in line with inflation if the library system still imposed late-fee penalties.
Author Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” was dropped off at Poudre Libraries 105 years to the day that it was checked out and supposed to be due back on Feb. 13, 1919, the library recently revealed.
An unidentified woman gave the book back earlier this year after her brother found it while rummaging through their mother’s belongings in Kansas, the library said in a press release last week.
When the book was checked out during the Woodrow Wilson presidential administration, the fine for an overdue book was 2 cents each day. If a messenger had to be sent to pick up the book, the offender would owe another quarter, the library said, citing the past lending rules.
“Based on a 2-cents-per-day fine, this fine would be approximately $760. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about $14,000!” the library stated, though it noted it stopped charging late-fees in November 2020.
