CONCORD LIBRARY RECEIVES MAGAZINE RETURNED 132 YEARS LATE

Concord Public Library in New Hampshire has received a magazine that was borrowed 132 years ago, after introducing an amnesty on overdue fines. John Hanson returned a copy of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine dated September 1894, which the library calculated was 48,220 days overdue. It said the loan would ordinarily have incurred a fine of $12,055 (£8,950). Hanson said he decided to bring the magazine in after reading in a local newspaper that the library had suspended late fees. Archivist Jennifer Needham, who was at the circulation desk when he arrived, said she had expected a far more recent item.

Hanson said the magazine had been in his home for decades and that he came into possession of it during a house move in 1966, though neither of his parents held a library card. He said his late first wife, Carol, was a regular library patron but would not have allowed a loan to go overdue. The identity of the original borrower is not known. The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine ran from 1881 to 1930, covering history, literature and current affairs, and published early work by writers including Henry James and Mark Twain. The returned copy still carried its original library bookplate.

Concord Public Library declared a year-long fine amnesty from 1 September 2026 to assess the effects of operating as a fine-free library, saying on social media it had seen "many happy faces" since the policy began. It confirmed Hanson would not be charged the $12,055 fine. The library said the magazine would not return to general circulation and suggested it could instead be kept in its Concord Room, a section devoted to local history. The case follows other reports of long-overdue library items being returned elsewhere in recent months.