99 years overdue, man returns library book

The book Stanley Dudek finally returned to the New Bedford Public Library this week wasn't overdue by a week, a month or even a year.

It was nearly a century overdue. "Facts I Ought to Know about the Government of My Country" was supposed to have been returned on May 10, 1910.

Dudek told the Standard Times newspaper he came across the book while going through things that had belonged to his mother, who died about 10 years ago.

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He decided that returning the book to the city — even after 99 years — was the right thing to do.

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The overdue book fine was a penny a day in 1910. That would have added up to a total fine of $361.35, but Dudek wasn't asked to pay it.

The library plans to display the old book in its special collection.