Book Returned To Larchmont Library After 90 Years: Here's What Fine Is

After returning a long-lost book to a library in Westchester 90 years late, a patron was assessed the maximum fee possible - although that might not be what you expect.

The book, “Youth and Two Other Stories” by Joseph Conrad, is now back in the collection of the Larchmont Public Library.
Photo Credit: *Larchmont Public Library*

Ben Crnic

10/15/2023 2:00 p.m.

In a social media post made on Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Larchmont Public Library revealed that it had received a package containing a book due on Oct. 11, 1933, making it only 90 years late.

The book, titled "Youth and Two Other Stories" and written by Joseph Conrad, was published in 1925 and still had the library's due date notecards inside, as shown in pictures posted by the library.

Obviously, the patron had good reason to worry about being slapped with an enormous late fee after nine decades. After all, at twenty cents a day, the fine would reach $6,400 by 2023.

However, when a Larchmont Public Library book is not returned after 30 days, it is then considered lost and the patron is only billed for the price of the book. Once the book is returned though, this fine then reverts back to the maximum penalty, which is only $5, library officials said.

"No matter how long a Larchmont Public Library book is overdue, if it gets returned, the maximum fine is a whopping five bucks," the library explained.

Thanks to this merciful policy, the patron who found the book in her stepfather's collection, Joanie Morgan, will not be in debt as a result of a nearly century-old mistake.

Hopefully, the book's next borrower is not as forgetful.

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