The Jersey City Independent "

Frank Lancellotti’s library book is 54 years overdue.

The Brick Township man seems to feel genuine remorse over this, and plans to return the book, a Spanish dictionary, in time for the Jersey City Free Public Library’s upcoming two weeks of fine amnesty.

The fine on the book by now would be around $2,000 — or twice that, according to assistant library director Sonia Araujo, if Lancellotti waited until January, when book late fees double.

The worst thing is, he took out the book on a borrowed card.

Lancellotti was a college student when he walked into the Jersey Avenue library on Jan. 12, 1955 to grab a Spanish dictionary. (“I still have the date on the jacket,” he says with a laugh.)

He really needed it, because he had a test coming up, but didn’t have his card on him.

The woman behind the counter wouldn’t do him any favors. But a girl who looked about 16 or 17 had overheard.

“She said, ‘Put it on my card, but just make sure you bring it back,’” Lancellotti recalls. “She was so trusting. I said ‘Oh, I definitely will, I only need it over the weekend.’”

Fast forward half a century: Lancellotti found the book while poking through some old boxes in the attic of the house he shares with his wife.

“I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god, this poor kid,’” he says. “Nobody in Jersey City had much money in those days. I said, ‘I bet this poor kid got stuck paying for this.’ I didn’t know who she was.”

He saw a mention of the fine amnesty program in a local paper he still reads and thought to himself: “I would really just feel better if I could give the book back now.”

The Jersey City Library plans to raise fines on books starting Jan. 4 from 10 cents a day to 20 cents a day.

Araujo says idea of the amnesty is to give people the chance to redeem themselves before the fines go up. (Those who lost a book will still have to replace it, either by paying for it or ordering another copy.)

Patrons can return overdue library materials without paying a fine from Dec. 7 to 12 and Dec. 14 to 19 at the main library, the 11 branches and the Bookmobile.

The library loses between $10,000 and $15,000 a year when books are not returned, Araujo says, and an additional $10,000 on unreturned videos, CDs and books on tape. (Video rental fees and copy machine fees will also go up in January.)

“We don’t have the money to buy 20 or 30 copies of one book,” Araujo says. “It’s not frugal for us to do that.”

With fine amnesty, “We’re giving people an opportunity to give us what they’ve got and they can start fresh.”

Which is exactly what Lancellotti would like.

Twenty years ago, he probably wouldn’t have thought much about the book. But now, at 74, he says wants more than ever to keep his conscience clear.

He dropped the book in the mail today — along with a $100 donation.

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