Next to this comes binding proper, books sewn with sewn-in bands or flexible, then properly forwarded and finished. This is all skilled work, and if any library is able to afford it there is no question but that a large saving would be effected, both in money and in efficiency, if it would set up a small bindery of its own. I think, however, that it would not be wise to set up such a bindery unless some member of the superior staff has gone through the binding shops and is able to bind a book properly himself. [N.B.—In London the practical knowledge is very difficult to obtain, as the Technical Education Board of the London County Council does not admit amateurs.] Without this knowledge it is impossible to know whether a book is truly or fraudulently bound.

A very common fault is that binders will not draw the ends of the bands of a book properly in to the boards. They cut off the ends of the bands or scrape them so thin that they are of no strength—this is done so that the joint should look quite flat. The result is that when the cloth, buckram, or leather with which the back is covered, gives way, off come the boards; the book is then sent to a binder, who sticks a new strip of leather along the back, and letters it, and charges the same as for re-binding, the operation is done by one’s own binder with own leather, costing about a few pence only. In a properly forwarded book with the bands properly drawn in, the boards are very securely fastened and may well remain so for hundreds of years, irrespective of whatever substance is used to cover the back. If the sewing of an old book is still sound, but the ends of the bands are broken off, new bands can be added by means of tape glued over the old ones and then fastened on to the boards and properly covered with a new bit of leather. Sometimes when they are sound, the remaining ends of old bands will bear a new bit sewn on to them. In all repairs care should be taken to match any old leather that can be retained as nearly as possible. The proper sewing and forwarding of the book is the integral part of the binding, the outer covering is of little real use except for the protection of the threads which in the case of a flexible sewn book would soon wear through if not enclosed. The outer covering of a book, however, has great decorative possibilities and has been for centuries a much valued field for designers, jewellers, enamellers, goldsmiths, and workers in blind and gold tooling. Much fine decorative work done on modern calf and bright coloured leathers will probably perish in a very few years.

The question, therefore, of quality and soundness of the leather used for covering the proper sewing of a book is of much importance. There is strong need for sound leather, which is difficult to get, and ordinary persons, even bookbinders and librarians themselves, cannot by a simple inspection discriminate between new good leather and new bad leather because there is no apparent difference.

We are in the hands of our leather merchants, and although several firms are now willing to sell leathers under guarantee of freedom from sulphuric acid, all are not yet so inclined. I should advise all librarians who do their own binding to accept no leather without a written guarantee of freedom from sulphuric acid, and even then I should send a cutting to Dr. Parker for examination.

With regard to the trade aspect of employing a binder directly to work on a time agreement, I am authoritatively informed that, provided the workman is paid the full trade union wage, and properly located, there is no objection to his employment in this manner. On the other hand, as I have hinted before, I think that such a workman requires some skilled supervision, so here, again, I would urge that in every library one of the superior staff should be a competent binder himself. Given such a skilled supervisor and a small body of skilled binders under his authority, there is no doubt whatever that much money would be saved in the administration of any library, and a multitude of invaluable small repairs would be possible, which under ordinary conditions must be left alone to accumulate and get worse and worse.

I am pleased to say that there are already valuable corroborations of this view in actual working, and I am permitted to cite the case of the Hull Public Library, whose report on the binding for 1901 is before me. During this year I find that the work done comprised—

The cost of the above work was—

£s.d.
Wages21044
Materials—£s.d.
Millboards2584
Cloth1124
Tapes330
Paste and glue3166
Calico7102
Gold leaf493
Leathers4186
Thread521
Gas, carriage, &c.986
End papers786
——————118172
——————
£32916
============

The mere enumeration of these materials shows the immense value of the system, enabling the administration to accomplish numbers of small repairs, each of which would have cost very much more if they had been done by an outside bookbinder.