Smithsonian Magazine

This Library Book Was 150 Years Overdue. Fortunately for the Man Who Just Returned It, Librarians Won’t Be Enforcing a $20,000 Late Fee

"The Antiquities of Athens" had likely been missing from an Australian library since the 1870s. Staffers say its recovery is ...

47 years late, this library book was finally returned to Charleston County

The Charleston County Public Library’s summer reading program centered on the theme of traveling through books and one borrowed hardcover may have had the most exciting journey of all. Library staff ...

Library book found in fireplace returns 150 years late

An Australian man found the 1858 volume inside a tea crate bricked into a sealed fireplace during renovations ...

A book found bricked in a fireplace is returned to an Australian library, 150 years overdue

A book on Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library about 150 years late, with water damage from years bricked into a fireplace.

A Mom Found Out Her Son Had Been Returning Library Books a Day Late on Purpose Just to Talk to the Librarian for an Extra Few Minutes

A quiet trip to the local library had always seemed like the least surprising part of our week. My teenage son loved reading, ...