President George Washington racks up $300,000 late fee for two Manhattan library books

NY Daily News ^

[Sub-Driver]

President George Washington racks up $300,000 late fee for two Manhattan library books

BY Rich Schapiro DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Saturday, April 17th 2010, 4:00 AM

He may have never told a lie, but George Washington apparently had no problem stiffing a Manhattan library on two books.

Two centuries ago, the nation's first President borrowed two tomes from the New York Society Library on E. 79th St. and never returned them, racking up an inflation-adjusted $300,000 late fee.

But Washington can rest easy.

"We're not actively pursuing the overdue fines," quipped head librarian Mark Bartlett. "But we would be very happy if we were able to get the books back."

Washington's dastardly deed went unknown for almost 150 years.

Then in 1934, a dusty, beaten-up ledger was discovered in a trash heap in the library's basement.

On its tan pages were the names of all of the people who had borrowed books from the city's oldest library between July 1789 and April 1792.

At the time, the city was the nation's capital and the library - then located at Wall and Broad Sts. - was the only one in town.

Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay all borrowed books, the ledger shows.

They returned them, too.

[Sub-Driver]

amusing........

[chuckles]

Read the comments. It’s all about slavery. And it must be Bush’s fault.

[Gay State Conservative]

Hussein would just say that it was part of his effort to "return the nation's wealth to its rightful owners".

Either that or mumble something about clinging to guns and library cards....

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Being NY, they’ll no doubt go to Washington’s grave and try to collect the money.

[napscoordinator]

I think his family member descendants should pay :)

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Aaron Burr, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay all borrowed books, the ledger shows.

Wow, I wonder if they ever met each other in the nonfiction section...

[Genoa]

Good thing he had no natural descendants.

[Shanty Shaker]

Maybe the librarian “Forgot” to mark them as returned. Our local library did that once. :)

[Oldexpat]

This is like Winston Churchill’s unpaid club bill at the Bangalore Club in India.

[napscoordinator]

I did not know that but true.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

If the NY Public Library could fin(e)d those books, they’d make a fortune.

[redheadtoo]

Maybe the librarian “Forgot” to mark them as returned.

So true. They had no computer backups from those days, no scanners, no tech at all, just quill pens and ink. A tired Librarian fails to mark a book returned, the next morning another librarian unknowingly re-shelves the book. It probably happened all the time.

[Shanty Shaker]

Our library has the scanners. We got the missing books off the shelf and they retracted the fees.

[bgill]

Never fear. Hussein will rush in to pay the fine with stimulus dollars and take over the nation’s library system. What better way to limit information and knowledge.

[bgill]

On Oct. 5, 1789, Washington borrowed the "Law of Nations," a treatise on international relations, and Vol. 12 of the "Commons Debates," which contained transcripts of debates from Britain's House of Commons.

PING A LING!

[Vermont Lt]

I just came across a book that my daughter forgot to return to the school library in third grade. I cringe at what they fourteen dollar book is going to cost her.

[bgill]

This might need a list ping.

On Oct. 5, 1789, Washington borrowed the "Law of Nations," a treatise on international relations, and Vol. 12 of the "Commons Debates," which contained transcripts of debates from Britain's House of Commons.

[bgill]

Don’t pay the fine. Opt to buy the book or wait until the library has their pardons day.

[bgill]

It would be most interesting to see the titles of the books checked out by the founding fathers.

[kalee]

Who has the Rev War ping list? This might interest that list.