Library Bookbinding

by Arthur Low Bailey

CORNERS

Corners on library books should be rounded to prevent the board from breaking if the book falls and to prevent the cloth from wearing through at this point. Rounded corners are peculiar to library binding. As a rule they are not made by cutting off a corner of the board, but by turning in the cloth diagonally from the corner and then from the side and end. Sometimes both methods are adopted. If government specification cloth is used it is probable that "library corners" will not be necessary.

In some libraries pieces of leather or vellum are put on corners. Leather is put on in order to raise the bottom of the boards from the shelf, while vellum is used to make the corners hard and prevent them from breaking or showing signs of wear. While both serve the purpose for which they are intended, the process of putting them on adds materially to the expense, and in most cases this is not warranted by the increased use of the book.