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Book returned to New York library 72 years overdue

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Jan. 26 (UPI) -- A New York library said a biography of Theodore Roosevelt was returned recently, nearly 72 years overdue.

John Moss, of Mattituck, said he isn't sure how the book, Great Heart: The Life Story of Theodore Roosevelt, by Daniel Henderson, came to be in his possession, but he recently found it in a big plastic crate of books he had in storage.

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Moss said the book might have been at his parents' house when he cleaned it out in 2013, or it might be one of dozens of books he has accumulated from yard sales and other sources over the years.

Moss returned the book to the Amagansett Free Library, where officials said they determined had been due back on April 5, 1949.

"It is a first edition from 1919 and has the original library bookplate, as well as the circulation policy on the back cover," library director Lauren Nichols told The Southampton Press. "I've only seen one or two items at the library with these features, but none with both."

Nichols said the late fee for the book would have amounted to about $262 at the 1949 rate of one penny a day. The library has since done away with all late fees.

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The Winnipeg Public Library in Manitoba, Canada, revealed in December that an issue of Car Craft magazine was returned 45 years past its due date. The library said the magazine still was in good shape and officials did not plan to charge late fees.

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