Canadian returns library book 50 years late

Remember libraries? You do know that especially in USA they still exist and are still free right? I wouldn't say that I regularly visit my local library but it is a refreshing experience when you are there. It's quiet, almost nobody uses the damn places, and they have all the latest releases of books. In the past when I was a kid, libraries were always quite busy with students especially at night because that was the only place we could do research. The internet of course changed all of that but I guess they are still pumping tax money into these places and while it would be very easy to argue that this is a waste since almost nobody uses libraries anymore, I am happy to pay taxes for this.

The other week I was looking for a rather old Orson Scott Card book and while my local library did not have it, they did locate one nearby in another library and completely free of charge the had it sent over and called me when it arrived.

Libraries are pretty amazing but I do remember that if you returned a book late, there was a very small fee attached to having done so. At least at my library you could put on some "woe is me" look and the librarian would probably waive the fees especially if you were a kid. They would always say that this is a "one time courtesy" but in the end I don't think I ever paid a late fee at a library.

I also never waited decades to return a book like this guy did though.

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It happened in Vancouver, Canada and they recently removed all fees so the late returnee need not be worried about the 5 cents per day late fee. I'm gonna do some quick math though and find out how much it would have been if they had decided to stick it to the guy.

• 5 cents x 365 x 51= $930.75

So it is ever just slightly more than the cost of the book in question. I certainly hope that the person who checked the book out managed to read all of it in that time.

Especially if you are in North America, you really should be taking advantage of the local libraries. I know that we all have our tablets and gadgets these days but nothing compares to a regular book in my opinion. I own a Kindle, but it simply isn't and never will be the same experience. Also, since we know that the libraries will go out of their way to not charge you for almost anything including returning a book half a century late, there isn't much reason to not use them. This is probably one of the few aspects of western society that I still appreciate.

This story also contributes to the stereotype of Canadians being extremely polite. I don't know if that stereotype is correct because I don't know many Canadians, but it is nice to see stuff like this when the news cycle is filled with people being assholes all over the world.