Over a century has passed since an inquisitive individual signed out a groundbreaking scientific book from a Massachusetts library on February 14, 1904.

Titled “An Elementary Treatise on Electricity” by James Clerk Maxwell, the volume was only returned 119 years later, thanks to a diligent librarian based in West Virginia.

Stewart Plein, the curator of rare books at West Virginia University Libraries, discovered the tome while sifting through a recent book donation.

Plein spotted an unmarked “Withdrawn” stamp, indicating the book’s extraordinarily extended overdue status from its home at the New Bedford Free Public Library.

Upon the discovery, Plein got in touch with Jodi Goodman, the special collections librarian at New Bedford, who was elated to hear the news.

“This came back in extremely good condition,” remarked New Bedford Public Library Director Olivia Melo last Friday. “Someone obviously kept this on a nice bookshelf because it was in such good shape and probably got passed down in the family.”

The treatise was first published in 1881, just two years post Maxwell’s demise in 1879. Although this specific cranberry-colored edition isn’t a rare copy, it is part of a significant chapter in our scientific history, particularly our understanding of electricity.

While overdue returns of a decade or so aren’t unheard of, Melo stated that a century-scale delay was unprecedented at the New Bedford library.

When Maxwell’s book was last at home in New Bedford, America was teetering on the cusp of great advancements. Thomas Edison was patenting the principles of his incandescent lamp, the country was bracing for the second modern World Series, and President Theodore Roosevelt was steering towards another term. The Wright brothers had recently taken flight, and New York City was reveling in its first subway line.

Melo reflects on this rediscovery as a salute to the enduring relevance of printed books, especially in our era of digital overload.

She said, “The value of the printed book is it’s not digital, it’s not going to disappear…It is still going to be here a hundred years from now. The printed book is always going to be valuable.”

As per the New Bedford library’s 5-cent-per-day late fee, the overdue book would incur a fine exceeding $2,100. However, due to the library’s maximum late fee policy, the tardy borrower owes no more than $2.

Melo’s ultimate takeaway from this extraordinary event? Returning a library book is never off the table, no matter the delay.

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