Book finally returned to Gelderland library after 40 years, borrower gets €5 fine

A library in Groesbeek in Gelderland has finally been reunited with one of its books after almost 40 years. 

Jan Wolkers’ book Back to Oegstgeest was supposed to be back on March 5, 1981. Clearly, the borrower was really, really enjoying this book. Or at least, they were taking the time to really appreciate it. 39 years, 13 weeks and 5 days, to be exact.

Luckily for the borrower, the library has a cap on the maximum fine that can be given for a late return. The cap is at €5, so this lucky borrower didn’t really have much of a punishment waiting for them. If there hadn’t been a cap, however, the total fine would have gone up tp €1,530.75. So uh. Let’s all be grateful for libraries, shall we?

Have you ever returned a book late to the library? Know anyone who could beat this borrower’s record? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Lisa Fotios/Pexels

Ailish Lalor
Ailish Lalor
Ailish was born in Sydney, Australia, but grew up by a forest in south-east Ireland, which she has attempted to replace with a living room filled with plants in The Hague. Besides catering to her army of pannenkoekenplantjes, Ailish spends her days convincing her friends that all food is better slightly burnt, plotting ways to hang out with dogs and cats, and of course, writing for DutchReview.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related posts

Latest posts

Watch out! Important timetable changes announced for 3 Dutch stations

Perhaps the promise of better weather has you planning a day trip or weekend away during the upcoming month? If you're intending to take...

Amsterdammer diagnosed with ‘super coronavirus’ after being infected for over 600 days

The 72-year-old Amsterdam resident died in October of last year, after being infected with the coronavirus for a total of 613 days. According to de...

7 cool features I use every day banking with ING

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Cras semper auctor neque vitae....

It's happening

Upcoming events

The latest Dutch news.
In your inbox.