Purdue entomologist returns moth library book 60 years late

A Purdue University entomology professor has returned a copy of “The Moths of the Limberlost” that he checked out 60 years ago at age 8.

WTWO-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana, reports that (http://bit.ly/2bfqXPQ ) Larry Murdock checked out the book from the Linton Public Library in western Indiana in 1956. He says he found the book in a box and that returning it “was the right thing to do.” He also paid a $436.44 fine. Murdock says the book is about what he loves, “insects and especially moths.”

The professor says he thought “maybe after all those years there are kids out there who might get some benefit” from the book by late Indiana naturalist Gene Stratton-Porter.

Linton library officials say they used the fine money to buy new computers for the children’s section.