Advertisements as a rule should not be bound. Since they are a part of the history of the times, it is desirable for a few of the largest libraries to bind the advertising pages of one or two numbers a year in each periodical. Other libraries should throw them away. It is not necessary to remove them entirely before sending the volumes to the bindery; tearing down two or three inches on pages which are to be discarded is sufficient indication to the binder that they are not to be bound.
Several magazines, such as McClure's and Everybody's, have, for several years, made a practice of leaving articles unfinished in the main paging and continuing them on advertising pages. This is an annoying practice since great care must be taken to see that all text matter is complete, even if it becomes necessary to bind all advertising pages.
Many periodicals, especially those of a scientific character, contain plates which are not paged-in. If these are scattered through the text they may be allowed to stay there, but if they are grouped together at the end of each number they should be placed together in proper order at the end of the complete volume.
The vagaries of periodical publishers are shown as much in the way in which they issue (or do not issue) title-pages and indexes as in any other way. The proper way, which is seldom done, is to issue both title-page and index in the last number of each volume. Some publishers issue them in the first number of the next volume; some at various times during the publication of the succeeding volume. Some publish a title-page at the beginning of the first number of a volume and an index when the spirit moves. Some publish a title-page but no index or table of contents. Others publish a title-page and table of contents but do not send them unless requested to do so. Many publish neither title-page nor index, and perfectly reputable periodicals which have published these essential parts of a periodical for twenty years or more will suddenly cease publishing them. It is evident that title-pages and indexes are nuisances in preparing periodicals for the bindery.
The assistant in charge should keep a record showing (a) which publishers must be asked to send title-pages and indexes, and this should be done as soon as possible after the volumes are complete; (b) in which number of a periodical title-pages and indexes may be looked for if they come regularly; (c) which periodicals do not publish title-pages and indexes.
If lack of funds makes it impossible to bind periodicals and they must be wrapped in paper it is highly important that title-pages and indexes be included, since it may be impossible to obtain them when funds permit binding.
Changes in the size of periodicals are a cause of annoyance. The annoyance is not great when the change is from a large quarto to an octavo, for the cost of binding an octavo is considerably less than that of a quarto. Unfortunately, the present tendency is almost wholly the other way. Many periodicals, for years published in a comfortable octavo size have been changed to a much larger size. This in itself is exasperating, but in addition the publishers apparently make no effort to change the size with the beginning of a new volume, so that part of a volume will be of one size and part of another. In such cases the troubles of the binding assistant may be readily imagined.
While it is highly important to bind only complete volumes of periodicals, it is occasionally permissible to bind volumes with guards for missing numbers which may be inserted later if they are obtained. This method makes it possible to put a volume into permanent form better suited for use than unbound numbers, and prevents further loss of numbers already in hand. It can be done only when the numbers are very thin, particularly in the case of newspapers.
Quite a number of periodicals have so few pages in each number that a complete volume makes a very thin book. In such cases it is best to bind two volumes in one at the cost of one.
Among other material which passes through the hands of a binding assistant are the annual reports of various organizations—religious, charitable, fraternal, governmental, etc. In large libraries these must be bound for permanent preservation. In small libraries the annual reports of all local organizations should be bound if funds permit, others wrapped in paper and lettered on the wrapper. Whether they are to be bound or wrapped in paper, they should be grouped by regular periods, preferably five or ten reports in a volume, according to size, following the decades or half decades.