Current:Home > ScamsExtremely overdue book returned to Massachusetts library 119 years later -Secure Growth Academy
Extremely overdue book returned to Massachusetts library 119 years later
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:57:52
On Feb. 14, 1904, someone curious about the emerging possibilities of a key force of nature checked out James Clerk Maxwell's "An Elementary Treatise on Electricity" from the New Bedford Free Public Library.
It would take 119 years and the sharp eyes of a librarian in West Virginia before the scientific text finally found its way back to the Massachusetts library.
The discovery occurred when Stewart Plein, the curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, was sorting through a recent donation of books.
Plein found the treatise and noticed it had been part of the collection at the New Bedford library and, critically, had not been stamped "Withdrawn," indicating that while extremely overdue, the book had not been discarded.
Plein contacted Jodi Goodman, the special collections librarian in New Bedford, to alert her to the find.
"This came back in extremely good condition," New Bedford Public Library Director Olivia Melo said Friday. "Someone obviously kept this on a nice bookshelf because it was in such good shape and probably got passed down in the family."
The treatise was first published in 1881, two years after Maxwell's death in 1879, although the cranberry-colored copy now back at the New Bedford library is not considered a rare edition of the work, Melo said.
The library occasionally receives books as much as 10 or 15 years overdue, but nothing anywhere close to a century or more, she said.
The treatise was published at a time when the world was still growing to understand the possibilities of electricity. In 1880, Thomas Edison received a historic patent embodying the principles of his incandescent lamp.
When the book was last in New Bedford, the nation was preparing for its second modern World Series, incumbent Republican President Theodore Roosevelt was on track to win another term, Wilbur and Orville Wright had conducted their first airplane flight just a year before and New York City was celebrating its first subway line.
The discovery and return of the book is a testament to the durability of the printed word, especially in a time of computerization and instant access to unfathomable amounts of information, Melo said.
"The value of the printed book is it's not digital, it's not going to disappear. Just holding it, you get the sense of someone having this book 120 years ago and reading it, and here it is in my hands," she said. "It is still going to be here a hundred years from now. The printed book is always going to be valuable."
The New Bedford library has a 5-cent-per-day late fee. At that rate, someone returning a book overdue by 119 years would face a hefty fee of more than $2,100. The good news is the library's late fee limit maxes out at $2.
Another lesson of the find, according to Melo? It's never too late to return a library book.
- In:
- West Virginia
- New Bedford
- Entertainment
veryGood! (52852)
Related
- 'Malcolm in the Middle’ to return with new episodes featuring Frankie Muniz
- Mark Ruffalo's Rare Outing With Lookalike Kids Proves They're Not 13 Anymore
- NYC vigilantes 'Guardian Angels' tackle New Yorker on live TV, misidentify him as migrant
- 2 JetBlue planes make contact at Logan Airport, wingtip touches tail
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- Floridians shaken by 4.0 magnitude earthquake about 100 miles off the coast in the Atlantic Ocean
- Idaho Republicans oust House majority leader amid dispute over budget process
- Wisconsin elections official claims he’s done more for Black community than any white Republican
- Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
- The Little-Known Story of How World War II Led to the Inception of New York Fashion Week
Ranking
- Behind on your annual reading goal? Books under 200 pages to read before 2024 ends
- Henry Fambrough, the last surviving original member of The Spinners, dies at 85
- RZA says Wu-Tang Clan's 'camaraderie' and 'vitality' is stronger than ever for Vegas debut
- Tributes pour in as trans advocate Cecilia Gentili dies at 52, a week after her birthday
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Biden determined to use stunning Trump-backed collapse of border deal as a weapon in 2024 campaign
- A love so sweet - literally. These Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce cookies are going viral
- Nashville baker makes beautiful cookies of Taylor Swift in her NFL era ahead of Super Bowl
Recommendation
Bodycam footage shows high
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry calls for special session, focused on tough-on-crime policies
Does Nick Cannon See a Future With Mariah Carey After Bryan Tanaka Breakup? He Says...
Audit of $19,000 lectern purchase for Arkansas governor almost done
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
Kentucky House passes bill to bolster disclosure of sexual misconduct allegations against teachers
Missouri coroner accused of stealing from a dead person, misstating causes of death
Biden and Trump: How the two classified documents investigations came to different endings