A New Hampshire man returned a library magazine about 132 years late and owed nothing, thanks to a year-long freeze on fines.
Story Snapshot
- In early September 2026, John Hanson, 84, brought a September 1894 issue of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine back to the Concord Public Library.
- He returned it after reading in a local paper that the library had frozen late fines for a year.
- The library counted 48,220 days overdue, which would have meant a $12,055 fine. He paid nothing.
- The magazine will not go back on the shelves. The library hopes to display it in its Concord Room.
What Came Back to the Library
John Hanson, a Concord native who has lived in Barrington since 2010, walked into the Concord Public Library with a magazine printed in 1894. He brought it back because the library was taking items back with no fine. “Boy, this would be a good time to bring it back,” he said of the moment he read the news. The issue was The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, a popular magazine of the 1890s filled with poetry, essays, news and ads.
The magazine still carried a bookplate with the library’s name. It also carried a printed reminder that it “may be kept for one week.” It was in good shape for its age. One story inside covered the rise of playgrounds at city public schools, a piece of history that surprised the staff.
How the Fine Freeze Worked
The library is running a year-long trial with no late fines. By its count, the magazine was 48,220 days overdue. At the usual rate, that would have added up to $12,055. Under the freeze, Hanson owed nothing. The $12,055 figure was the library’s way of showing what the bill would have been, not a charge sent to him.
Jennifer Needham, the library’s archivist and outreach coordinator, was working the front desk when he came in. She said she expected the item to be from the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s. The library later posted about the return, saying it expected long-overdue books to come back, “but certainly not something from the late 19th century!”
The Man Behind the Magazine
Hanson said he first came across the magazine in 1966, when he was moving from Boscawen. He said he has no idea how it came to be in his home. He guessed it may have been a gift, or something he picked up from a roadside pile of free books. His parents did not have library cards in Concord.
Hanson’s late first wife, Carol, was a big reader and a regular at the library. He said she never would have let a checked-out item sit for so many years. Officials have not said who first borrowed the magazine in 1894. The town has a small piece of its own history back, and the library plans to care for it rather than lend it out again.
Sources:
bbc.com, nbcnews.com, npr.org, upi.com, people.com, ksl.com