The book will now be stored in the archives of the council.
A woman has finally returned an overdue library book she borrowed when she was just 14. Leslie Harrison, 70, returned the book after 56 years. He had borrowed ‘Ich lerne Deutsch’ while studying for his German O-levels at Whitley Bay Grammar School in 1966.
A note inside the front cover asked for the book to be returned within 21 days, or there would be a fine of 3d (three pence) per week. Mrs Harrison said she decided to return the book after hearing that the council had dropped its late charges and were offering a prize for the most overdue book in North Tyneside. He decides to hand over the book to the Killingworth Library.
A notional fine of over Euro 2,000 in today’s money could have been owed to the book.
The 70-year-old, who lives in Shiremoor, said: “I was doing O-level German at Whitley Bay Grammar School and A-level German, as well as French, and later taught myself Spanish. Can’t remember a lot of words.”
She said, “I knew I hadn’t brought the book back and when I moved out of my parents’ house, I thought I wouldn’t be able to pay the fine, so it stayed in a drawer. We traveled a lot . . , and it always came with me.”
“When I heard about the apology, I thought ‘I’m sure I have that old book lying around somewhere,’ and I know the library staff were surprised and amazed when I brought it up. It’s still in good condition.” I look after my books,” she said.
The former civil servant who once thought of becoming a librarian has an otherwise unblemished book-borrowing record and has never been late in returning a book since moving back to North Tyneside from Chester-le-Street in 2013. not done.
“We came back in 2013 and since then I’ve been very good about returning books; I don’t think I’ve ever paid a fine. I’ve been careful about returning books or renewing them online.”
Councilor Sandra Graham, the cabinet member responsible for the library, said: “Just for fun, we’ve roughly calculated the late fee that a 56-year-old overdue book could cost and it could be over Euro 2,000.” He added, “We’ve had such a positive response to our decision to eliminate the fine and it’s the oldest book we’ve got back this far. Better late than never!”
The book will now be stored in the archives of the council.
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