😮📚 The Case of the Prodigal Book: Takes 119 Year Vacay, Returns Home to Massachusetts Library 🕰️🏠
TL;DR;
Longer than a human lifetime, that’s how long a book titled “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” by James Clerk Maxwell decided to take an unexpected vacation. Checked out from the New Bedford Free Public Library on Valentine’s Day, 1904, it finally made its grand return in 2023. All thanks to an eagle-eyed librarian in West Virginia. No late fees were reported…😂💸
📚🎉 Library Party, Anyone? 🕺💃
In a plot twist that would make a librarian blush, a well-traveled book, “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity,” packed its pages and booked it (see what we did there? 😅) from the New Bedford Free Public Library, Massachusetts, in 1904.
The library card under “destination” must’ve read, “Anywhere but here for the next century or so.” 🗺️
119 years later, our bookish hero chose to end its nomadic lifestyle. How did that happen, you ask? Picture this: Stewart Plein, the curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, stumbling upon this ancient text during a routine book donation sorting. Our librarian noticed the original library stamp of the New Bedford library but also saw that the book hadn’t been marked “Withdrawn.” The result? The longest overdue book return in history. 😱📖
🤔 A Mystery in Plain Sight 🕵️♀️
How did the book manage to elude detection for more than a century? How many hands did it pass through? How many eyes scanned its pages? These questions may never be answered. But isn’t it thrilling to imagine its journey? 😁
A tale of an unexpected journey or just an overdue library book that had been forgotten for over a century? You decide. 🙃
Let’s face it, the book has seen more of the world than some of us sitting behind screens all day! 🌍👀
💫 Home at Last 🏡
Just like the prodigal son, this book found its way back home. Now, it’s back on the shelves, a tangible testimony to time, history, and probably the most patient library in the world. They didn’t even ask for late fees, which probably could have bought the library itself, considering compound interest over 119 years. 😉💰
🎤👇
Now, what would you do if you found a book that was overdue by 119 years? Would you return it? Or would you keep it as a souvenir of an adventurous literary past? How many years do you think you could keep a library book without feeling guilty? Is it even possible to feel guilt over a book? We’re curious, share your thoughts below! 👇🤔
