Library book about electricity is returned after 119 years: 'In such good shape'

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Back on Feb. 14, 1904, someone curious about the emerging possibilities of a key force of nature checked out James Clerk Maxwell’s book, "An Elementary Treatise on Electricity," from the New Bedford Free Public Library in New Bedford, Massachusetts. 

It took 119 years and the sharp eyes of a librarian in West Virginia before the scientific text finally found its way back to its home library, the Associated Press reported.

Stewart Plein, curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, was sorting through a recent donation of books when she found the treatise. 

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Plein noticed the book had been part of the collection at the New Bedford library and, critically, had not been stamped "withdrawn" — indicating that while it was extremely overdue, the book had not been discarded.

So Plein contacted Jodi Goodman, special collections librarian in New Bedford, to alert her to the find.

This 2019 file photo shows rows of books at a U.S. public library. The New Bedford, Massachusetts, library occasionally receives books that are as much as 10 or 15 years overdue — but nothing anywhere near to a century or more overdue, said a staff member there.  (AP Photo/Anita Snow, File)

"This came back in extremely good condition," Olivia Melo, New Bedford Public Library director said on Friday, as the AP reported. 

"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 published in 1881, two years after Maxwell’s death in 1879 — though the cranberry-colored copy now back at the New Bedford library is not considered a rare edition of the work, Melo said.

The treatise was published at a time when the world was still growing to understand the possibilities of electricity. 

The library occasionally receives books that are as much as 10 or 15 years overdue — but nothing anywhere close to a century or more, she said.

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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.

A woman reads a book at a library in the U.S. "The printed book is always going to be valuable," said a special collections librarian.  (Hoover Library/Lance Shores)

When the book was last in New Bedford, incumbent GOP 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 printed word's durability — especially at a time of computerization and quick access to enormous amounts of information, Melo said.

"The value of the printed book is it’s not digital. It’s not going to disappear," Melo said, as the AP reported. 

In terms of late fees, what would a book overdue by 119 years face?

"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 100 years from now. The printed book is always going to be valuable."

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In terms of late fees for overdue books, what would a book overdue by 119 years face? 

The library’s late fee limit maxes out at $2, the AP reported.

A child stands before a row of bookshelves in a public library. Last summer, a New Jersey man returned a book that was 75 years late.  (In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)

Earlier this year, a Bend, Oregon, library had a surprise when a book that was borrowed nearly 45 years ago was returned with a note and a check to help cover the overdue fines.

The Deschutes Public Library shared the story of the returned book in early March in honor of National Return Borrowed Books Week.

And last summer, a New Jersey man returned a book that was 75 years late. 

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Bob Jablonski of Jersey City, New Jersey, was only 14 years old in 1947 when he checked out the book "Hitler," by Oden Rudolph, from the James J. Ferris High School branch of the Jersey City Free Public Library, the Hudson Reporter noted in August 2022. 

Jablonski returned the book to the library 75 years later — at age 89, to be exact, according to the same outlet. 

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He returned the book in apparently perfect shape. It even had its original reference card tucked inside, said the Reporter.

He found the book while cleaning out his family home.

Greg Wehner of Fox News Digital, as well as the Associated Press and Deirdre Reilly, contributing reporting.