TOPEKA, KS—Staff at the Shawnee Branch Library announced Thursday that they have extended the due date on a 1974 guide to macramé. Nobody has checked the book out since 1987.

"We felt it deserved more time," said head librarian Joan Patterson. "It's been a difficult few decades for macramé."

The book was last borrowed on March 3, 1987, and returned eight days early. It has sat on the same shelf ever since. Staff say it has been dusted 1,400 times, and it is the only item in the building that has never been in anyone's way.

The extension moves the book's due date to 2031. The library says the gesture is part of a wider program to "meet our collection where it is."

"Some books get read and some books get kept," said library clerk Mario Delgado. "This one has been kept extremely well."

The library has also sent the book a friendly reminder notice, mailed to its own shelf.

At press time, a patron had asked about the book. Staff did not check it out, because they didn't want to rush it.