Cambridge University library book returned... 50 years late

A rare atlas has been returned to a university library - more than 50 years after it was due back.

The book was borrowed by an undergraduate at the University of Cambridge in the early 1970s, and brought back to the Jerwood Library after a Trinity Hall college reunion.

The sheepish borrower returned the overdue book with a note explaining that it was an old atlas that was of historical interest.

The college library said the return was "definitely a case of better late than never".

Librarians discovered it was published by the curiously-named Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK), which was founded in London in 1826 by the prominent Whig politician, Lord Henry Brougham.

The society published books on subjects intended for a working-class audience, with its most successful publications a set of inexpensive atlas maps.

In a blog post, librarians said that atlases had previously been "expensive – luxury items intended for the gentleman’s library".

"The SDUK maps were intended to attract a wide readership and be affordable, and they are some of the most accurate and well-designed maps of the time," they add.

At an average rate of 20p per day, the library fine for the book’s late return would have been roughly £3,000.

However - fortunately for the forgetful borrower - the library has not charged overdue fines for the past three years.