I was quite impressed that a two-week amnesty period actually got people to return all these library books. I would have thought laziness was a much bigger factor than racking up fees, especially since the average fee due per book was less than $2.
The San Francisco Public Library received back nearly 30,000 overdue books during a two-week amnesty period last month, the library announced Thursday.
The library estimated the total value of the 29,228 returned books at $730,000.
One of the oldest books returned was a 1947 copy of George Bernard Shaw’s “Man and Superman.” It had a due date of Jan. 29, 1964 and was borrowed from the Presidio Branch Library.
The returnees saved themselves a total of $55,165 in overdue fees, the library reported. Along with the returned books, they were also asked to submit “excuses” for their lateness.
One apologetic library patron, known only as “Antonio,” blamed his tardiness on a two-month abduction by aliens, the library said.
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