Woman Returns Overdue Library Book She Borrowed In 1948

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Better late than never -- even if it's 24,604 days late.

A New Zealand library was stunned to receive a book that was due back in 1948 from a woman who borrowed the item when she was a child.

As a young girl, she had borrowed the book from the Epsom Community Library in Auckland. When she moved out of the area, she accidentally took the book with her. After nearly 70 years, the woman returned the book "in excellent well-read condition," according to the Epsom library.

The library did not fine the woman, who is now in her 70s.

"We felt that she took such good care of the book that we couldn't possibly charge her! We are just stoked she felt she could bring it back to us and tell us her story," the library posted on its Facebook page.

The woman didn't get charged because she checked the book out when she was a child, according to the local paper. Had she been fined using today's rates, she could've owed as much as $24,604 New Zealand dollars ($17,174 USD), the New Zealand Herald estimated.

The book "Myths and Legends of Maoriland" by A.W Reed was published in 1946 and the item the woman returned is a first edition. It is one of New Zealand's most recognized books in the genre about folklore and mythology of the Maori people.

However, the returned book will not be available for check out, the Auckland library told the New Zealand Herald.

In the United States, there have been reports about police officers visiting library patrons who've racked up big fines from overdue borrowed items.

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