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A Finnish library-goer apparently thought 'better late than never' and quietly returned a book on loan for more than 100 years to a library in Vantaa, in southern Finland.
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A Finnish library-goer apparently thought 'better late than never' and quietly returned a book on loan for more than 100 years to a library in Vantaa, in southern Finland.
The library had long since lost track of the loan but welcomed back to its collections the bound copy of a 1902 volume of Vartija, an active religious monthly periodical at the time.
"We are unclear when exactly it was borrowed and who returned it. There weren't any documents with it," librarian Minna Saastamoinen said.
"There is an old note attached to the book which says there is a fine of 10 pennies a week for late returns," she added.
The library sticker inside the cover, and the old-fashioned handwriting on it, showed the book was last officially loaned out at the beginning of the last century, she said.
Finland is known for a comprehensive library network with more than 900 libraries for its 5.3 million inhabitants. In 2006, each Finn on average visited a library 11 times and borrowed nearly 20 books.
The periodical was borrowed such a long time ago that the Korso branch of the Vantaa library, where the tome was finally handed in, did not even exist when the book was borrowed.
(Agencies)
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近日，芬蘭一位圖書借閱者將一本借出100多年的書悄悄歸還給了芬蘭南部萬塔的一家圖書館，顯然他（她）是覺得“遲還總比不還好”。
芬蘭圖書館這本失而復(fù)得的書是當(dāng)時很活躍的一本宗教月刊《瓦提加》1902年卷的合訂本。
圖書管理員米娜?薩斯塔摩恩說：“我們不清楚這本書具體是什么時候借出去的，也不知道是誰還回來的。我們這沒有任何相關(guān)記錄?！?/font>
她說：“那本書里附有一張舊標(biāo)簽，上面寫著逾期歸還一周要罰款10便士?！?/font>
據(jù)她介紹，從這本書封面里的圖書館標(biāo)簽及上面的舊筆跡可以判斷，這本書最后一次正式借出是在上個世紀(jì)初。
芬蘭以其綜合的圖書館網(wǎng)絡(luò)而聞名，芬蘭共有530萬居民，而圖書館數(shù)量竟達(dá)到900多個。2006年，芬蘭平均每個居民去圖書館11次，借書近20本。
這本書的借出時間太久遠(yuǎn)，它最終“落戶”的萬塔圖書館科索分館在其借出時甚至都不存在。
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（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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