Now that's what I call a library patron!

Most Americans take their library privileges seriously. A recent Zogby poll found just six out of a hundred people confessed to not returning library books. KPCC’s Special Correspondent Kitty Felde found one library patron who’s more conscientious than most.

Kitty Felde: Chesley Sullenberger has a problem. He borrowed a book from the Danville Library – and it’s overdue. To complicate matters, the book was an interlibrary loan from Fresno State.

Sullenberger contacted librarians and asked for an extension on the loan and a waiver on the overdue fine. The reason? The book is in the cargo hold of the US Airways plane that made an emergency landing last month in New York’s Hudson River. Sullenberger is the pilot who made that landing. No one was seriously injured.

Fresno State library officials were impressed with Sullenberger’s sense of responsibility… and waived all fines and fees, even the one for losing the book. The library’s going one step further: when the replacement book goes up on the shelf, it will have a special template in front, dedicating it to Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger.

Oh, by the way. The topic of that book? Professional ethics.