A British library said it has a new record for an overdue book after a tome was recently returned nearly 76 years after its due date.
The Bradford Council’s Keighley Library in England said officials recently received an email from Charlie Studdy, who found a play called This Way To The Tomb by Ronald Duncan while sorting through some of his family’s books.
The book bore markers from the library and had a due date of July 17, 1946.
“That is definitely a record for us, nearly 76 years overdue,” the library said on Twitter.
Studdy hand-delivered the book to the library. He said his deceased mother, Eileen Hoyle, must have borrowed the book while she was living in nearby Haworth.
Librarians calculated the book would have amassed $4,357.86 in late fees at the current rate, but officials chose to forgo the fine.
