Brought to book: Texan man jailed for keeping overdue library study guide

The 19 year-old had the text book out for over three years

Jory Enck had the text book out for over three years (Getty Images)

An American man was jailed for not returning a library book.

Jory Enck, a 19-year-old from the southern state of Texas, was arrested and imprisoned after he kept a book checked out for over three years. He was later released on a $200 bail (£125).

Legal papers show that he borrowed a high school exam study guide in 2010 and did not respond to requests from the library to return it.

His imprisonment is the result of a ruling that has been in place in Copperas Cove city for four years.

It allows the police to arrest library users who fail to return overdue books for over 90 days and do not reply to phone calls or emails from the library.

Copperas Cove Municipal Court Judge Bill Price said that the law has faced a lot of resistance from local residents who view it with “universal hatred. Nobody wants to get arrested over a library book.

“The other side of that is people that go to our library and can't have these materials, they're put out too,” he said.

According to Texan news network KEYE, found a copy of the study guide like the one he checked out was back on the shelf.

Enck's library card was found inside the book and library records showed the text was returned the day after his arrest.

Julie Lehmann of the Copperas Cove Police Department said if an officer encounters a library user who meet's the city's 90-day criteria, they will make an arrest.