The Malta Independent 30 May 2025, Friday
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NY library book returned 55 years late, with $100

Malta Independent Wednesday, 6 February 2013, 07:41 Last update: about 12 years ago

 

A long overdue book has finally been returned to the New York Public Library — 55 years late.

The Daily News says the biography of a 16th-century priest called "Fire of Francis Xavier" was checked out of the Fort Washington branch in upper Manhattan on April 10, 1958.

Library manager Jennifer Zarr tells the newspaper the book arrived at the library on Monday wrapped in a plain brown envelope with a check for $100 to cover the dues inside.

She says library records don't go back to 1958 and there's no way to trace who borrowed the book. She won't reveal the name on the check.

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