Libraries may not be as prominent as they once were, but that hasn’t stopped them from cracking down on late fees for overdue books. A woman in Illinois has broken the Guinness world record for the largest fine paid from an overdue library book. She paid $345 after returning a book originally due back in 1955.
Emily Canellos-Simms recently stumbled across a copy of ‘Days and Deeds, a book of children's poems, in her mother's house. She noticed the book belonged to Kewanee Public Library in Illinois, and was due back on April 19, 1955. While Canellos-Simms wasn’t the original renter of the book, she was charged $345.14 upon it return.
The book accumulated that large of a late fee by a charge of two cents a day for 47 years. While this is the largest fine ever recorded, it’s not the latest a book was returned, as a book once rented by George Washington was later returned to the New York Library 221 years later. Maybe after this fine, Canellos-Simms will probably just go ahead and keep the next book.
Via UPI