Fundamentals of Book Repair

This two-day class teaches staff members how to perform simple, economical, quality repairs on materials in circulating and reference collections.

Wear and tear on books is inevitable, and most libraries perform minor repairs on their damaged materials. Despite good intentions, some materials and procedures used for repairing books can shorten the useful life of an item and make it hard to open and use. Done properly, book repair is an effective preservation strategy that can extend the useful life of a collection and reduce replacement and binding costs.

The focuses on techniques that do not require expensive equipment and supplies, and can be performed successfully after a short training period. The class does NOT teach techniques for repairing materials that are special, rare, or archival. The following procedures are taught in small-groups through demonstrations and practice:

• Tightening hinges when text blocks are pulling away from the cover
• Replacing torn endsheets
• Replacing torn or damaged spines
• Mending paper
• Tipping and hinging pages into bound volumes.

Lectures and discussion address preservation principles, treatment decision-making, and organizing and equipping a repair unit. Included with the registration fee is a book repair kit containing a variety of tools, samples of paper, cloth and adhesives provided by support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this class, students will be able to:

• Identify common minor repairs.
• Discuss proper care and handling techniques.
• Locate vendors for appropriate preservation supplies.
• Apply basic repair techniques for circulating collections.