101,000 items returned in Chicago library’s amnesty program
The Chicago Public Library’s “Once in a Blue Moon Amnesty” program has ended with the return of more than 101,000 items worth an estimated $2 million.
From Aug. 20 to Sept. 7, the library allowed patrons to return missing books, DVDs and CDs without paying the outstanding fines.
Library spokeswoman Ruth Lednicer tells the Chicago Tribune that most items returned were three to five weeks overdue. But she says staff members were surprised by how many overdue items dated back to the 1970s and `80s.
The oldest book returned was a limited-edition copy of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” due 78 years ago.
Lednicer says the library waived more than $640,000 in fines during the amnesty period.
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