Transcriber’s Notes

Minor typographical errors have been corrected in the text that follows. Old-fashioned spelling has been left unchanged.

For a complete list of corrections, other changes, and notes, please see the [end of this document.]

The picture opposite the title-page is a reprint of a page from the volume of plates, made in 1771, to illustrate Diderot’s Encyclopædia. This page is one of six, each 8×12 ins. in the original, illustrating the article in the encyclopædia on binding.

The picture in the upper part of the plate represents a binder’s workshop. The person at A is beating a book. The woman at B is sewing. The man at C is cutting or trimming the edges of a book. The man at D is working a press.

Of the figures below: 1 is a piece of marble on which books are beaten; 2 is a piece of marble of different shape for the same purpose; 3 is a beating hammer; 4 is a sewing table or bench, on which books are sewn; 5 and 6 are balls of thread for sewing books; 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are parts of a sewing bench; 13 and 14 are large and small paper folders.

Notes on
Bookbinding for Libraries

By

John Cotton Dana

Librarian Free Public Library,
Newark, N. J.

Revised and Enlarged Edition

Library Bureau, Chicago
1910

COPYRIGHTED
1910
LIBRARY BUREAU

[Naudé On Binding]

“The fourth is, to retrench & cut off all the superfluous expences, which many prodigally and to no purpose bestow upon the binding and ornaments of their Books, and to employ it in purchasing such as they want, that so they may not be obnoxious to that censure of Seneca, who handsomly reproaches those, Quibus voluminum suorum frontes maxime placent titulique; & this the rather, that the binding is nothing but an accident & form of appearing, without which (at least so splendid and sumptuous) Books become altogether as useful, commode & rare; it becoming the ignorant onely to esteem a Book for its cover; seeing it is not with Books, as it is with men, who are onely known and respected for their robes and their clothes, so that it is a great deal better, and more necessary, for example, to have a good quantity of Books, well & ordinarily bound, than to have a little Chamber or Cabinet full of washed, gilded, ruled, and enriched with all manner of nicity, lux and superfluity.”

From John Evelyn’s translation of Gabriel Naudé’s “Instructions Concerning Erecting of a Library.” London. 1661. Chapter 5.

[Preface to Second and Revised Edition]

In the first edition of this book I said that it ought not to be taken as a final authority, but as a set of suggestions which I hoped would arouse interest in the subject of library binding and lead a few to pursue the subject further. Some of the changes made for this edition indicate that I have followed the topic a little further myself,—I hope with advantage to my readers.

Several chapters are new. There are many minor changes and omissions. The lists have been enlarged and brought into one.

I had looked into the subject of library binding and discovered the ignorance concerning it of American librarians, including myself, before I visited Mr. Chivers’ beautiful bindery in Bath, England, several years ago. That visit had much to do with the contents of this little book. Mr. Chivers was quite of my opinion that the only way to induce librarians in America to improve our binding was to persuade us to look into the subject. If the book has led some to do this it has accomplished its purpose. As to the fundamental points in it, they largely come, I am pleased to confess, from England, by way of that bindery in Bath.

At the risk of seeming to speak to commercial ends I quote in effect some of the things said by Mr. Chivers in one of his circulars, prefacing the quotation with the remark that the point I wish chiefly to make in this book is the advantage of having certain books, when new, bound once for all:

“The following statement is not an exaggeration: A library saves half the cost of new popular books, and of replacements for which much use may be anticipated, if it purchases them in Cedric Chivers’ patent bindings. New books supplied in these bindings are sold as being bound once for all. It is thought that they are so bound as to serve for quite fifty per cent. more issues than will a book purchased in publisher’s cloth, used for a time, and then rebound in the ordinary way. Generally speaking such results and even better results are obtained. Occasionally, however, a book does not come up to these expectations. In such cases it is especially desired that its failure be reported and, if necessary, that the book be returned for examination. The paper used in modern books is of such varying quality that it is sometimes difficult to tell without actually trying what is the best manner of treating it.”

Buy books well bound direct from publishers’ sheets; mend ordinary books very little; rebind them early; watch results; tabulate them, and make use of experience. These are the main themes of this book.

J. C. D.

Free Public Library,
Newark, N. J., May, 1909.

[CHAPTER I]
Introductory

As the title indicates these notes have been compiled in the hope that they may be of assistance to librarians in caring for the binding and rebinding of library books. They hardly touch upon publishers’ binding or the decoration of bindings. The suggestions and advice they give should not be taken as final, for the binding and rebinding question is not yet settled. They may help some to carry out more successfully their own inquiries and experiments. If good binders were more common librarians would need little of the information here briefly set forth. But under the present conditions of the bookbinder’s art in this country librarians themselves must often furnish considerable expert knowledge, if they wish their work well done.

I have refrained from going much into the details of the process of binding. The details can only be made clear by means of illustrations, and have already been most admirably set forth in Douglas Cockerell’s book. I have tried to draw attention to the important points. The librarian ought to know good results when he sees them, or at least when he tests them on his books; the details of every step he can learn if he will, by a little practice and a good deal of observation. No librarian should try to bind or to conduct personally his own bindery. Binding is a special trade, and skill and speed in it come only by long practice. The librarian cannot become a skilled binder. He should become familiar with the results of the binding he gets by a study of his books. If he finds they do not wear well, but rot, break or show loose pages, let him keep a few statistics, and if he learns he is wasting money on cheap work or poor material, let him change his material and his processes, and perhaps his binder. I hope this book may lead some to test the work they are now getting, and may help some to get more satisfactory workmanship and more enduring materials. It is not a guide to the craft of binding. To get good binding, go to a good binder; to learn about the binding craft, practice it and read Cockerell; to discover if your binding is good, watch it and gather statistics of its wear.

Much of the information, many reports of experiences and many suggestions will be found in the lists of leathers, etc., and definitions of terms used in binding. It seemed unwise to repeat them as part of a connected text.

In considering the subject of economical binding and rebinding for libraries, we find that we are entirely without standards. We have no figures for comparisons. Librarians have, save in a very few cases, made no study of the comparative value of bindings, either of original cloth or of the rebindings they have had put on their books. If a few librarians would note the number of times books can be issued without rebinding after they are received in the original publisher’s cloth, and how many issues they will stand after they have been once, or twice, rebound, they would, in a few months, have data from which they could draw helpful conclusions in regard to the comparative value of bindings and rebindings.

The test of a binding, whether publisher’s original, special from the sheets, or a rebinding, lies, for ordinary lending books, in the ratio of its cost to the number of times the book it covers is lent for home use before being discarded. This ratio has rarely been systematically noted.

To the inquiry, does the method of rebinding which my library now employs give the best possible return for the money spent? most librarians must reply that they do not know.

Reference and college libraries are often also much in the dark. The continued quite general use for permanent bindings of a leather which tests have shown will not last over 25 or 30 years at the most is an evidence of this.

In England, as is well known, a good many years of careful observation and comparison of experiments have led a large number of librarians to the conclusion which some American librarians also accept, that it is the part of sound economy to have books carefully bound directly from publishers’ sheets, even though the prices of such bindings seem at first unduly high.

I sent a letter of inquiry to a large number of libraries asking for detailed information about the wear of books in publishers’ bindings and in the one or more rebindings which were placed on them. Replies were received from 18 libraries, giving brief life histories of 74 books. Definite conclusions cannot be drawn from these reports, as librarians differ much in their ways of treating books. Some rebind them as soon as they show serious signs of wear; others keep them in circulation long after they have begun to go to pieces. But the figures indicate that it would pay these libraries, as it probably would all others, to get most of the books which are to be subjected to much handling strongly bound direct from publishers’ sheets.

The reports show that 74 books cost, including first price, rebinding and labor of handling for rebinding, an average of $1.38 each; that they were lent an average of 79 times in the two states, new and rebound; and that they were out of use an average of five weeks while being rebound. A book of a nature similar to those reported on, well-bound from publishers’ sheets costs about $1.50; can be lent from 100 to 150 times and loses no time in being rebound.

Of these books 52 were rebound a second time at an average cost, including labor in preparation, of 40 cents; were out of use an average of five weeks; and were lent an average of 43 times each in this second binding. The complete history of the books a second time rebound is as follows:

These figures do not tell the whole story. The book bound strongly and flexibly from publishers’ sheets is from the first more convenient to handle and pleasanter to read, and usually looks better throughout all its one long life than do, on the average, those books which twice or thrice in their histories get into a broken-backed, loose-leaved, generally disreputable condition. Furthermore, and this is most important, a book is most wanted in a library when it is new; if sent out to be rebound for five and a half weeks after it has been lent 32 times it is out of use just when it is most in demand; and the library loses in its effectiveness—that is, in the service it can render its public for the money expended—much more than the mere difference in the money cost of the two kinds of binding would indicate. The durable first binding gives us a book which can be in constant service from 100 to 150 times from the day it goes to the shelves, just when it is most needed. A book once or twice rebound in the first few months of its life is a special source of annoyance—the paradox is permissible—by its very absence.

Table of life histories:

Table of life histories:

Transcriber’s Note

The following text is the transcription of a table whose column headings were written vertically.
Key to column headings:— A: Library, B: No. of books reported on, C: First cost of books, D: Times lent before rebinding, E: Cost of rebinding, F: Weeks out of use, G: Cost of handling, H: Times lent in rebinding, I: Cost of 2nd rebinding, J: Weeks out of use, K: Cost of handling, and L: Times lent in 2nd rebinding.

In the Newark library an examination of 56 books, chiefly novels, from 15 or 20 different publishers, shows that on the average they were lent in publishers’ binding only 25 times each before being rebound; and that 42 books in the juvenile department were lent in the publishers’ binding an average of only 17 times each.

In bindings and rebindings one of the most essential things to be secured is ease of opening. A book that opens out easily, and lies flat without being pressed or held in position, will probably keep clean and whole for more than twice as many lendings as one that is held together tightly at the back. As a great many of the library books which call for rebindings have to be trimmed at the back and overcast, it is essential that the overcast sewing be of a flexible nature, one that permits of the easy opening of the book. Probably few of the factors in book construction and book injury have been more effective than the tight binding, held open with difficulty, which is produced by nearly all of the current overcasting or whipstitching.

Another point that cannot be too strongly insisted on is that books not only differ from one another in their natures and so require different treatment in binding; but also differ in the use they are to receive, and require different bindings on that account.

It should be understood that bookbinding is a craft in the best sense of that word. To bind a book well calls for good judgment and care at every step. The librarian can draw up schedules with infinity of detail, and make them as correct as he may please, basing them on experience without end; and the binder, so far as material and processes are concerned, may seem to follow these specifications exactly, and still may produce poor bindings. To secure a good binding the spirit of the binder must go into it. In drawing the thread, in paring and placing the leather, in applying the paste and glue, and in every other of the many processes involved, the man without good will, as the man without skill, can spoil the whole binding. Librarians should learn to esteem bookbinding highly. It is a craft which lies close to them. It is preëminently their business to encourage it to grow in excellence. They should develop their local binder’s interest in his calling, stand by him, urge him on to better work, and pay him adequately for it.

One may frankly say that the character of binding done in nearly all libraries in America has been, up to the present time, a discredit to the library profession. We owe it to ourselves to take up this craft and do what we can to elevate it.

One objection sometimes made to bindings of the highest grade is that they last too long; and after the book is too greatly soiled and tattered within to be longer kept, the binding itself still holds, showing that more care has been put into its construction, and consequently more cost, than it needed. The objection needs only to be stated for its absurdity to be seen. The thorough binder, the skilled craftsman, adapts his binding to the book and to the use, as far as he can judge of it, which it is to receive.

He binds each book so well that it will hold together to the end of time; or until its paper fairly drops to pieces. He can issue with each volume no guarantee that it will not receive more than its proper baptism of dirt from careless borrowers long before the paper in it begins to give way and fray out. The binder’s obligation is to bind the book well. It is the librarian’s business to see that the book is, as to its interior, well treated. As to its binding lasting too long, why should the librarian concern himself about the shell after the kernel is eaten? It should be noted again, however, that a book well bound, opening easily, and lying open without pressure from fingers or thumbs, keeps clean many times longer than one that opens hard.

The sum of all my observations is, the best is the cheapest. If a book is worth binding let it be bound by the best man available. If possible, buy books so well bound from the publishers’ sheets, that they will never need to be bound again.

[CHAPTER II]
Binding: The Process Described

Books are now printed in large sheets from 4 to 64 pages at a time. In many cases paper is drawn from a roll (as it is in the printing of a newspaper), printed on both sides in large sections of 64 pages, and cut and folded as it leaves the press. These sheets, of several pages each, after being printed, are gathered into a complete book, sometimes by a machine, and are then sewn together by a machine. This machine for sewing is a comparatively recent invention. In most cases sewing done on a machine is not as strong as the old-fashioned hand sewing. The sections, or signatures, or folds of the book, as the several sets of several pages each are called, are caught together only by thread; strings or tapes are not used. This sewing is then reinforced by a piece of cloth, usually thin, cheap muslin, or poor super, which is pasted over the back and allowed to extend a little way down each side. But sewing on a machine can be done with strings added and made very strong.

Sewing

A Section of Fifteenth Century sewing on double bands with head and tail bands.

B Section of modern “flexible” sewing round single bands.

C Section of ordinary sewing with sunk bands.

D Section of tape sewing advocated for cheap work in place of C.

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

Covers for books are now made by machines into which are fed pieces of cardboard and a roll of cloth. The machine cuts the cloth into the proper size, pastes it and folds it over the boards into a cover, leaving a loose place between the two boards to be filled by the body of the book. This cover is then printed in a machine much like a printing press; the gold of the title on the back or sides or both, and the colors or blank impressions, for ornament, all being impressed on it with great rapidity. The completed cover, called a case, is then pasted to the sides of the book. A book thus bound has nothing to hold cover and inside together save a strip of thin muslin, with a strip of paper which goes over it, passing from the back of the book to the inside of the board covers. This strip grows weak after a little use and frequently breaks, or pulls away from the cover, or from the back, or from both. Books printed on cheap paper and folded and sewed and bound by machinery in the manner thus very briefly outlined can be produced and sold at present for 10 cents each, or even less.

Books printed with more care, on better paper, with a better quality of cloth on the cover, and a more elaborate title in real gold instead of some cheaper imitation of it, books, that is, like the novels issued by the better class of publishers, can be produced in quantities of from one to three thousand, for from 15 to 30 cents each. Few of the novels put on the market today cost the publishers, for their making alone, as much as the latter price. To this must be added a royalty to the author, generally 10% of the retail price, the cost of the management of the business and the advertising. In the case of small editions, one or two thousand, this brings the original cost of the average work up to 50 or 75 cents. Suppose this book to be offered at retail at $1.25. There must then be deducted from this retail price the discount to the jobber, 25 to 40 +10%, and the royalty, and the advertising, and the cost of production, etc., leaving a profit to the publisher of from 5 to 20 cents on each volume. A well-made and widely advertised novel which does not sell more than a thousand copies is not a very profitable product for a publisher to put out.

The school text-books issued by the more reputable publishing houses are generally very well made. They are printed on good paper, usually rather highly calendered, with good ink, are bound with extra care, and have good material in their covers. The competition between school book publishers makes it necessary for them in self-defense to produce books which will wear well in the hands of the average pupil.

Up to a few years ago all books were sewn by hand, the covers were made by hand, and hand work was employed in putting book and cover together.

The process of sewing by hand may be briefly described as follows: Two or more strings or tapes are stretched between the edge of a board and a stick held horizontally above it by two uprights. The book folded and ready for sewing, after having been either pressed or beaten with a hammer to make it lie smooth, is held in a vise and two saw cuts are made in the back at about the same distance from each other and from the ends. Two smaller saw cuts are also made in the back of the book, one between each of the larger ones and the opposite ends of the back. The first signature—the fold or section made of a large sheet folded—of the book is laid on the board so that the larger saw cuts are opposite the two strings. A thread is passed through the small cut at one end, into the middle of the fold, then out again by the first string, around the string, and in again to the middle of the fold, then along the inside of the fold to the next string, around that string, along inside the fold, then out again at the other small cut. The second signature is then laid on top of the first. The thread is passed into the small cut, along and around the two strings, as with the first signature, and out at the other end, where it is tied to the end of the thread which has been left sticking out of the first saw cut for this purpose. This process is continued until the book is all fastened together and to the strings. As the sewing goes on, the several signatures are caught together at the smaller holes at each end by passing the thread, as it comes out of the hole, down and under the loop made by the passing of the thread between the two signatures previously sewn. In the case of a book containing a large number of signatures the thread does not extend the whole length of each fold, but passes from one to another as it goes the length of the book, gathering on two signatures at once. Sometimes, by using four strings instead of two, the string is made to pass through and to sew on three signatures at a time. Examples of this two-on and three-on method can be seen in almost any large book bound prior to 15 or 20 years ago. In very careful binding by hand in the early days of book-making, the strings were not set into saw cuts, but were simply laid across the back of the book. The thread came out of the signature and passed around the strings, and went in again. The strings, with the thread thus wrapped around them, made a welt across the back of the book. These welts, when covered by the leather of the binding, showed as raised bands. These raised bands are imitated by pasting bits of leather on the back in much so-called fine binding today. In some cases the old process is employed and the bands have a real reason for existence. Books are sometimes sewn on tapes or strips of vellum. These, laid across the back, sometimes make ridges which are treated as bands in the completed book.

In old bindings, to give the book a better appearance at top and bottom, what is called a headband was put on with thread, the thread passing through the signatures and from one signature to another in such a way as still more securely to hold these together. Today the headband is still used; but usually it is simply pasted in and is little more than an ornament. Sometimes the book’s back is still further reinforced by pasting or gluing to it a piece of vellum, leather or heavy cloth before the process of putting on the cover begins.

Set rules for sewing books should not be laid down. Each book is treated by the skillful binder, or should be, in accordance with the character of its paper, the number of inserts, the thickness of the paper, the size of the signatures, the size of the leaves, the use it is to receive, and other facts. The good binder binds each book well according to its kind.

Showing a Method of Sewing on Tapes

The catching up of the alternate groups of threads as they cross the bands renders the sewing firmer. There are other methods of achieving this end.

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

After the book is properly sewn, the strings on which it is gathered are cut off a short distance from the sides. Pieces of cardboard are cut of the proper size for a cover. The ends of the strings are laced into them or fastened down upon them with paste or glue. The leather for the cover is then pasted or glued to the back and the outside of the boards. The ends are turned over the boards and at the top and bottom of the book are turned down and pasted to themselves, thus forming a roll or crown which lies up close to the headband. The sides are then covered, if the book is not to be bound in full leather, with cloth or paper or other material. The outside sheets of the books, called end-sheets, are then pasted to the inside of the cover and the book is practically complete.

The back of the book is always covered with glue after the sewing and before the leather or cloth is put on. This glue is thin and hot, and is put on to hold together the backs of the signatures. In rounding, the binder manipulates the book with the hands, and taps it with a hammer until the proper shape is secured. This is done after the coat of glue has been applied. In edition work this is done on a machine. In backing the book is held between two metal, or metal-edged, plates close up to the back, the back having been stiffened previously with a coat of glue which has not set very firmly; and with a hammer the backs of the signatures are pounded down and out, making a slight ledge or groove along the outer edges against which set later the boards of the covers.

If the book is to be tight back the cloth or leather is glued direct to the backs of the signatures thus rounded, though often a thin piece of cloth, super, is first glued on, extending over onto the sides. If it is to be loose back a double fold of paper is attached to the back, one sheet to the back and one to the cover material. The leather or cloth then stands out from the book, when it is open, being attached to it only at the joints. It is in loose back binding, as said above, that cloth or leather is sometimes glued fast and with great care to the back before the cover goes on, thus taking the place of the leather of the cover in the tight back book. In the best binding this backing extends over through or past the joint and onto the sides or covers; and is also firmly attached, at the joint, to the leather of the back. In the Newark library we use for this a thin soft muslin of the best quality.

Showing Method of Attaching Tape Slips or Ends of Bands to a Split Board Leaving a “French Joint”

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

This description of the process of binding is a suggestive outline only. Enough has been said, however, to show that the books sewn by hand and fastened carefully to the cover as described will, if properly made, wear much longer than a book bound by machinery, if bound as above described. But, just as a machine properly handled can produce paper of greater uniformity of thickness and of a quality superior in many respects to the best hand-made paper, so the machines used in binding can, if properly handled, bind books even more strongly than can any save the most careful workman. The possible differences between machine-made books can easily be noted in the cheap novels of the day, which are poorly bound, and well-made law books and encyclopædias. These latter are often faithfully put together and will stand almost as much wear as any books ever produced.

[CHAPTER III]
The Literary Side of Library Rebinding

After satisfactory materials and methods of binding for a library have been discovered and adopted, there still remain many questions which can be well answered only by one having a wide knowledge of books. Nor is a general knowledge of books alone enough to qualify one to answer wisely these questions. Close acquaintance with the library’s policy in regard to book-saving and book-buying and of its attitude toward the demand for popular and ephemeral fiction; knowledge of its reference work; of the amount of handling its books receive by the public, and of its financial condition and policy—all this and much besides the person in charge of binding should have before she can make wise decisions. And particularly she needs knowledge of paper, editions, prices and similar matters.

Take fiction for example. More than half of the binding bills of most free public libraries are probably chargeable to novels. One of these comes to the hands of the person in charge of binding in such condition that at the first glance it seems desirable to rebind it. Let us suppose that it is still in publisher’s cloth; is quite soiled outside, but still fairly clean within; that the cover has parted from the book in front; that several leaves are loose and two of them frayed at the edges; that at the back the outside sheets of several signatures are nearly worn through or broken; and that the label is off. Should it be rebound; or what should be done with it? Before deciding its fate, questions like the following must be answered.

If this is not the only copy of this book now in the library, are the other copies in good condition?

If they are, can the library spare this copy because the demand for this particular title is past? And is it not better economy to throw it away or sell it—as it will probably never be wanted again—than to spend money in binding it?

That is to say, if it is bound, will it not stand idle on the shelf?

If it continues to be somewhat popular, and this copy would get some use if it were replaced, still, is it a book the use of which it is the library’s policy to encourage?

If not, has it not served its purpose and should it not be put away, rather than entail on the library another expense item in cost of binding?

If it is the only copy in the library, is it a book the library wishes to retain or has it been in effect on trial, and has proved not to be worth keeping?

If so, would not the binding of it be a use of money far less justifiable than its original purchase?

Or is it perhaps of interest now simply as a part of the history of fiction and so still worth keeping?

But, if kept for this purpose, does it need binding at all? Will not a little mending make it hold together sufficiently well? Perhaps the best plan would be to reclassify it for the literature section, wrap it in paper, mark the wrapper, and put on the shelf.

If it is a good book, in constant demand, the question is still not a simple one. Is it on poor paper, so poor that in our style of rebinding it will last but a short time? If so, would not a new copy be a better investment than the rebinding of this one?

If the paper is good enough for rebinding, will it stand mending and further wear without making its ultimate binding very difficult?

If there are other editions of this book obtainable, does this sample indicate that this particular edition is the best one to buy hereafter?

These and many other questions confront the librarian every time a book, of any kind, comes up for binding. Because they are not wisely answered the shelves of every library show examples of the unwise expenditure of money. To take a specific example in this same field of fiction. The library has several sets of Cooper. In each of them is the Chainbearer. Consider any one of the library’s copies of this book: No one reads it. But mere shifting on the shelf gradually wears it out. It goes through the bindery, and, being by Cooper, and a novel, it is bound, in the same style as the Spy which happens to go with it, in half leather. The Spy is used; the leather on it keeps soft and pliable and wears a year or two, until the book is too dirty to keep it longer. But the Chainbearer stands untouched and its leather hardens and breaks. It must be bound again within three or four years, even though it has not been lent once in that period. If it had received a plain cloth binding, that binding would have cost less and lasted indefinitely. If it had been thrown away the library would have been the gainer.

The problem is not less complex when books in classes other than fiction are up for consideration. Many of them are rarely used; why rebind them at all, no matter how broken? To tie a string about them or to wrap in paper and mark them would often be wiser economy. Often they are single volumes from long sets, an edition, for example, of some history bound about 1800. The binding is calf. In rebinding, to match the set is very unwise, for all calf now on the market will rot in a few years. It must be bound, let us suppose, as it is occasionally called for; yet it will not, like a popular novel, wear out or become unbearably dirty in a half century.

Shall it be put in morocco? This would be a mistake, for it is doubtful if present-day morocco will last 50 years, probably not half that time. The only alternative is cloth, and that with no leather title label on the back. One of the best things is, for a large book, heavy duck back, light gray or light green, lettered in printers’ ink, with sides of any good book cloth. This spoils the looks of the set. Moreover, the cloth catches dust and dirt, and grows soft and flabby. But it is today one of the few safe bindings. If the book is small, full art canvas or imperial morocco cloth is better.

So, as I have said, paper, leather, cloth, sewing, joints, gold, and many other things the librarian must know; and to these must add knowledge of literary values, popularity of books and authors, editions, prices and a score of other things before he can be sure, if he ever can be sure, that he is really binding economically, in the long run.

[CHAPTER IV]
Binding Materials Suitable for a Library

The Newark Library has tried many experiments in the choice of materials. It finds that thin, imported, acid-free pigskin, first used in this country by Mr. Chivers, is the best material for backs. It wears well; does not rot; is easily manipulated and takes gold lettering well. A disadvantage is its tendency to darken with handling. It works well on books of all sizes and all kinds, whether they are handled much or not.

Morocco, if tanned so that it will not rot, is more expensive than pigskin. For the finer books it is better than pigskin as it preserves better its appearance under much handling.

Cowskin is good for books which are to be much handled and are likely to be worn out and discarded within five years. Only the best quality should be used. Dark red is usually preferable to light red or brown. It costs less than pigskin.

English Imperial Morocco cloth makes a good full binding for books that are not to receive much wear. It cannot be lettered easily, and if much handled soon looks dingy at the top and bottom of the back and along the joint and at the corners.

Dark blue art canvas, the kind in which both warp and woof are dyed blue, makes a serviceable and inexpensive full binding. It can be recommended for books which are to be handled but little.

Large volumes like periodicals and society proceedings should have backs of gray or light green duck, with black letters, and sides of art canvas or morocco cloth.

Newspapers should also have backs of duck. The sides may be covered with paper, but art canvas or art vellum is better.

If newspapers are to be consulted often they should be carefully bound of course. But in a great many libraries it is wise to tie most newspapers up in flat packages instead of binding them.

For the sides of books, bound with pigskin or morocco backs, which are to be much handled the Newark Library has found nothing as good as keratol, elsewhere described. For books which are not to be much handled, morocco cloth is excellent. On books which are bound with an eye to their beauty,—curios, rarities, books to be exhibited, etc.—Newark uses three-fourths morocco with sides of paper or of cloth of appropriate color.

The joint committee on printing of the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C., made an investigation in 1907 of several binding materials. This investigation was made with special reference to the binding of the publications of the United States government. It included the subjects of endurance, wear, tensile strength, tendency to absorb moisture, readiness with which attacked by insects. Incidentally other qualities were considered.

An outcome of this investigation was the publication by the Bureau of Standards, Washington, of specifications for bookcloth for binding depository sets of public documents. The specifications state that the cloth shall be from first quality staple cotton, uniformly woven and of the grade known as firsts. The surface shall be smooth and hard and show no tendency to stick when folded upon itself. Further specifications cover the strength of the material, its tendency to absorb moisture, its resistance to mold and insects and other characteristics.

These specifications may be used by all librarians in selecting cloth for ordinary library binding. The Bureau of Standards will make tests according to the specifications for any library, charging a fee for the work. The cloth which conforms to these specifications is a smooth cotton fabric similar to that used by the best law book publishers in this country, and to the duck mentioned above. It is much heavier than ordinary publisher’s book cloth.

[CHAPTER V]
Rebinding for Libraries

Libraries differ as to bindings in their needs and in their possibilities. Books differ even more. No library can or should exactly follow any one style in its rebinding work. I add, however, the following directions for ordinary, much-used 12mo volumes, in the hope that they may be found suggestive. They should be read in the light of all the rest of this book, and not taken as final authority at any point.

Pull apart with great care. Remove all threads and old paste and glue. Smooth out the backs by beating. Guard the outer and inner leaves of all signatures that are broken or weak with paper or jaconet.

Loose pictures, if they are to be kept, put in with guards. Frequently in rebinding the illustrations may be dropped with no loss either to the reader’s pleasure or the cause of art.

See that the leaves are all in and complete.

No. 1. Books sewed regularly, that is, not whipstitched. Guard the first and last signatures with jaconet. If the title-page or frontispiece is an insert, paste the guard along the insert and over the first signature. This saves the labor of guarding the insert and first signature separately.

Guard with jaconet the inner side of the inside leaf of every signature that is at all worn or weak; if badly worn guard also the outer side of the outside leaf. In some cases every leaf should be guarded. But remember that guards thicken the back.

Make two sets of four-page end-sheets by folding once with the grain pieces of lithographed lining paper; and two sets of waste papers by folding once pieces of good book paper, about 60 lb. Guard the outside of the folds of all of these with jaconet, and place one of each kind at the front and back of the book, the lithograph one on the outside in each case.

Use Hayes’s standard linen thread of a weight adapted to the book. The cotton thread used in book sewing machines wears well, but is not recommended for hand-work. No. 25 is good for books with light sections, 16 for those with heavy sections, and 20 for those with medium. Sew the book on four stout but flexible tapes, each about a quarter of an inch wide. Sew all along throughout.

Leave about three-fourths of an inch of tape projecting each side when cutting off.

From here on the process is very similar for this kind of binding sewed in the ordinary way, and for No. 2, whipstitched, which follows.

No. 2. Books which are whipstitched, being in such condition or of such character that they have to be trimmed at the back, being then simply piles of loose sheets.

Cut off as little of the backs as possible. Prepare and place end sheets and waste papers as above described, except here paste the jaconet guard only along one side, the outer, of the folds of all of them. This gives firm hold for first overcast stitches.

Glue the back of the book slightly so that it may be divided into signatures of a few leaves each which will hold together.

Sew on same tapes as for a regularly sewed book.

In overcasting or whipstitching do not take up more than one-eighth of an inch for the deepest stitches. Make the signatures small and pass the needle through two of them with each stitch, taking the stitch diagonally.

Paste the lining papers to the waste sheets, all over, front and back. Paste ends of tapes on top of lining papers. Trim the book, cutting it as little as possible.

Glue the back slightly, and, when it is partly dried, round the book and then back it. In backing do not break the threads or pull them through the paper. This is especially to be guarded against on whipstitched books.

After rounding and backing, glue to the back and over onto the sides, passing beyond the jaconet guards, a strip of medium weight, soft, bleached muslin.

Measure and cut the boards, which should be of good quality, adapted to the wear the book is likely to have.

Cut the leather back, of pigskin. Do not pare it save slightly at the edges. Put a little paste on the boards to make them stay in place, and set them in place on the book.

Put on the leather, leaving the boards in place, tucking the leather in at top and bottom,—head and tail.

When the leather is partly dried, the book having been kept under slight pressure, cover the boards with keratol or appropriate cloth. Make the corner fold by first turning the cover material in straight across the corner and then bringing in the folds from right and left.

Paste the end sheets firmly down on the inside of the covers. This fastens the book securely into its case. Press until thoroughly dry.

Letter in gold with large, rather heavy, black-face letters. Reduce the lettering to as few words as possible.

No rule can be given as to the glue to be used. Let your binder be sure that what he uses is good, whether the price he pays be high or low. He can tell whether it is good or not by testing it. Glue pots should be cleaned out frequently. Glue should be treated with judgment as to heat and degree of thickness at which it is used. It is animal matter that quickly changes its character and loses its strength under wrong conditions.

The boards to be used in a book should depend, as to quality and thickness, on the character of the volume they cover. Expensive boards on a book which will probably soon be too dirty to be kept, are not essential.

Neither strings nor tapes need to be laced into the boards on ordinary library work. They hold well if carefully glued down on the inside, and very well if pasted between two boards or into a split in one.

Plates

The first diagram shows in section a plate pasted on to a leaf of a book. This method is faulty, because it takes up some of the back margin of the leaf; if the leaf is pressed back the plate is apt to split off.

The second diagram shows the method of attaching a plate by means of a “guard.”

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

Some books are best bound with tight backs, some with loose. There is no invariable rule in regard to this; it depends partly on the thickness of the book. Very thick volumes should have loose backs, usually.

It is usually wise to trim books when they are rebound. But this trimming should of course be as little as possible.

Showing the Method of Lacing in the Slips or Ends of Bands on a Flexible Bound Book

If depressions are cut in the board as shown, the slips can be left with an adequate margin of strength without clumsiness.

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

It is possible to whipstitch a book, even one which is printed on stiff paper, in such a way that it will be almost as flexible and open almost as easily as if it were sewed on tapes in the regular way. It is possible, but difficult. Few have done it. Few binderies, if any, in this country have workers who can and will give to the work of whipstitching the care and thought necessary to produce a good job.

No. 1

No. 2

Showing the Advantage of a “French Joint” over an Ordinary Joint

No. 1. A section of an Ordinary Joint with the board open shows that the creasing of the leather is concentrated on one line.

No. 2. A section of a “French Joint” shows how this creasing is distributed over a great surface, and so enables sufficient flexibility to be obtained with much thicker leather than can be used with an ordinary joint.

From report of the Committee on Leather for Bookbinding. Edited for Society of Arts. London: Bell & Sons, 1905.

Some strengthen the top and bottom of the back, the head and tail, by a piece of cloth or tape passing over the back of the signatures and held to them by the sewing in a manner difficult to describe.

Anatomy of a Joint

A Board of cover.

B B Bleached muslin, pasted over back after rounding and backing.

C C Strings or tapes on which the book is sewn.

D D End sheets of lithograph paper. The part at the left is pasted to the inside of the board and becomes the lining paper. B and C being pasted over on to D, when D is pasted to A they are carried with it and lie under the end sheet or lining paper.

E E Jaconet or thin muslin guard pasted on D before the book is sewn.

F F Waste papers of good book paper.

G G Jaconet guard of waste papers. Before the book is trimmed F and D are pasted together and become a doubled fly leaf.

H H The first signature of the book.

J J Jaconet guard of the first signature.

K K K Paths of threads.

L Leather back.

M Cloth or paper side.

Music should be sewed regularly or all along and the inside and outside sheets of all signatures should be guarded with jaconet. This guarding of the inner sheets makes the binding stronger, as the inner pages of a section always tend to work loose if much handled. The side and top squares should be about ⅛ of an inch; but the bottom square about ⅜ inch. This large square at the bottom raises the book on the instrument to allow the easy turning of leaves, as the pages frequently catch when the squares are the usual size all around. Newark finds half pig with Keratol sides very durable.

Large maps, drawings, etc., may be mounted on linen, jaconet, nainsook, ordinary bleached, or unbleached muslin. The material used should be five or six inches larger all around than the map to be mounted for convenience in stretching and working. Tack the cloth on a clean board, table or floor. Put the tacks very close together and tack the selvage edge first. The surface may be covered with waste paper before stretching the cloth on it. Apply a thin coat of thin paste all over. When dry, paste the map and allow it to stand about ten minutes to give it time to stretch. Lay the map on the muslin and rub it down under a stout piece of paper. Thorough rubbing down is absolutely necessary to make every part adhere. Proceed from the center outward, carefully rubbing out creases and bubbles. Dry thoroughly before taking up.

One person alone cannot mount a very large sheet.

Very small maps in books which have become somewhat worn and creased can be mounted on Japanese mending tissue. This paper is quite tough and thin, and wears well.

[CHAPTER VI]
Lettering and Numbering the Backs of Books

Several methods of lettering the backs of books are in use in libraries. The best is gilding. If this is well done with genuine gold it will remain bright for many years, and will stand hard wear better than any other style of marking. On leather this method should always be followed. Only the best work in gilding is worth the money it costs, and there is no substitute for gold that deserves mention.

Gilding on cloth by hand is rather difficult. It does not show well on light-colored cloth, or on some dark colors. On some cloths, also, gold titles become quite invisible in certain lights, probably because of a certain combination in them of color and texture. Dark green is often quite objectionable on this account, and the same is true of some shades of red, in cloths of a certain texture. This difficulty should be noted, and only those cloths used on books which are to have gold titles on which the letters show well, at whatever angle the light may strike them.

The process of gilding is described in books on binding. It costs usually about two cents a line.

Black ink is very good for lettering on some kinds of cloth, particularly on light-colored duck, canvas, buckram, whether cotton or linen, and art vellum. The ink used should be “bookbinder’s title ink,” made for the purpose. The letters should be large and heavy-faced and not set very closely together. The method of applying the ink is to pour some of it on a piece of marble and then to apply to the type with a rubber pad. As the type is cold, considerable pressure is necessary to make the ink take well. Black lettering costs about the same as gilding, say, two cents per line.

Letters in gold are sometimes applied to books bound in cloth by printing them on a very thin piece of leather and then gluing the latter to the back. This method is also occasionally used on books in leather. These leather labels can be stamped by machinery in quantities, as is done for large editions by commercial binders, though this is not practicable for the ordinary library binder. They usually look very well when first applied; but it is not very easy to make them hold permanently.

The better method in almost all cases is to letter directly on the book, no matter what material it is bound in.

The binder should use brass type letters in most cases; they wear well and give a clear impression. Ordinary printer’s type will do excellent work for a time. Brass type costs from 10 to 20 cents per letter, common type from one to five dollars per font, according to size and number of types. The best style for ordinary use is condensed gothic. A heavy-faced Roman, like Jensen, is sometimes good, and on larger books looks very well in capitals and small letters. Use as large letters as the back of the book will permit. Reduce the number of words in all titles to the lowest possible number.

Samples of type well adapted to lettering in gold on the backs of books:

Sample 1—Gothic condensed, 18 point.
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Free for the people
Sample 2—Schoeffer, 18 point.
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Free for the people
Sample 3—Lining condensed title, 12 point.
CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY
Free for the people

Titles can be printed on paper also and the paper then pasted or glued on. This plan is not at all satisfactory for books which are to have much use, as the paper soon gets soiled and is very apt to peel off.

Many libraries have bound books in light-colored cloth, usually art vellum, and then lettered them by hand with india-ink. The result is not very satisfactory. The time taken in lettering them neatly is considerable; the letters soon get soiled and illegible, and even if very well done they look cheap and homemade. At the ordinary cost of gilding, about two cents per line, hand lettering is almost as expensive as gilding if the cost of the time spent on it is fairly estimated. Then, to make them legible, the cloth chosen must be so light in color that it soon shows the results of handling and becomes dingy and disreputable. A dark cloth of the best quality and gold letters pay best.

Type Cabinet

On books bound in dark cloth or leather, numbers can be written in white ink. Some librarians find this plan quite satisfactory. The method is this: The place for the number being located, wash the varnish away from it with a clean cloth, dampened with a mixture of ammonia one part and water two parts, and allow to dry. Then write the letters with a fine camel’s hair brush, about No. 2 in size. When thoroughly dry give the letters a thin coat of shellac. David’s white letterine is one of the best white inks. White ink is difficult to manage and wears off soon if not very carefully put on.

Labels should always be put at least four inches from the bottom of the back, the tail, that they may not be soiled or worn off in handling. They should be marked with india-ink in large, plain figures. On many books it will pay to have them gilded, as when thus put on they do not detract from the book’s appearance and look well for an indefinite time. If labels are used, put them on as follows: The place for the label being located, wash away the varnish from that place a little with a clean cloth dampened with water and ammonia. If the book is thin cut the label before it is put on, so that it does not quite reach the edges of the back. If the book is so thin that there would not be sufficient room for the book number on a label cut to fit it, place the label on the upper left corner of the front cover. Press the label tightly and evenly down until it sticks firmly all over. This is most important. Use Dennison’s round gummed labels. These, being round, present no corners to be easily ruffed up. They are free from lines around the border, so their whole surface is available for the book number. They can be had in several sizes.

Lay out a scheme for marking books, and then make model labels to be followed in marking fiction, classed books, reference books, juveniles, magazines, etc., so that the same kinds of combinations of letters and figures will always be written in the same way.

[CHAPTER VII]
Pamphlets

The subject of the care of pamphlets in a library does not come within the field of these notes; but it may be proper to say that experience and observation have led me to the conclusion that many pamphlets are bound and entered in the catalog which are not worth the labor they have entailed. How those should be kept that are thought worth keeping I do not attempt to say. Often those kept are not worth keeping, and still oftener those bound and catalogued are not worth binding. If they are bound, the style of binding they should receive, if they are in fact books in paper covers, is to be decided by the same rules as is the same question in regard to other books. If they are in fact pamphlets—a few pages with no cover, and must stand on the shelf and will be little used, a cheap binding may be made thus: Take off the cover; fold once a sheet of stout paper to the pamphlet’s size; cut two boards for covers, a little narrower than the pamphlet; paste them to the paper mentioned about half an inch apart; paste a strip of book cloth down the back and over the edges of the boards; paste the cover to the boards, front and back; sew the pamphlet into the case thus roughly made with stout thread through three or five holes along the back (this last process is called stabbing); trim. This is simple, strong and inexpensive.

If the pamphlet consists of one signature only the method just described can be followed; but the sewing should be through the back, a saddlestitch, with the knot inside. The binder’s knot or stitch is thus made: Having three holes for the thread, go first down through the center one, back through one of the end holes, down again through the other end hole, up through the center, and tie the two ends over the thread which passes from end hole to end hole. With five holes the process is similar and easily followed.

A very neat pamphlet binding, for pamphlets too large to be saddle-stitched, is the following:

Cut two pieces of smooth, hard, “flat” paper the size of the pamphlet; along one edge of each paste a strip of thin cotton cloth, bleached muslin, about half an inch wide; lay one piece each side of the pamphlet, cloth strips at the back, and sew the pamphlet through these strips, close to the back, with three holes or five as seems advisable. Make two end-sheets of two leaves each, the size of the pamphlet; guard each with muslin; paste these to the first sheets, all over, one on each side of the pamphlet; cut boards and paste them down on the outer halves of the end-sheets (each end-sheet has now become, one-half the lining paper for the cover, the other half, half of a double fly leaf); put on a back of art vellum, leather or other material; paste on the pamphlet’s cover; trim. This binding is very strong, very neat, opens quite easily and will wear well. The boards can be covered all over with cloth, and the binding will then wear much longer.

Ballard’s clips find favor with many librarians, for both pamphlets and magazines. They hold things together neatly and securely, and hold magazines into covers of cloth or leather quite effectively. They are strips of sheet steel, of several widths, bent into about three-fourths of a circle. Small steel levers fit into cleverly adjusted holes and make opening easy.

[CHAPTER VIII]
Magazine Binders

It has long been one of the library traditions that magazines used in the reading room should be put into stiff and heavy temporary binders as soon as received, and so arranged, usually on racks holding them vertically, that they can all be seen at once. It is now permitted to doubt the wisdom of this proceeding. The binders are expensive; the best of them soon get a worn and dingy look, even if they hold together for a long time; the racks with their contents are usually not ornamental and are often quite the reverse. The space taken by the racks can ill be spared, especially when the area needed by browsers in front of them is included. If the number of periodicals taken is quite large the display space needed for them is quite out of proportion to the use made of them. Recent back numbers of most journals, as well as the last numbers, should be made accessible to readers, and for this there is no provision in the vertical file arrangement. There seems no better reason for exposing to the casual reader of the reading room the full fronts of all the journals the library takes than there is for making a similar display of all the books the library buys.

To the display of all journals on terrace tables most of the objections just noted are also applicable. A careful consideration of the relative value of current numbers of periodicals in a library and of space, time and energy that should be put on their presentation to the public, will lead one to the conclusion that the best way to handle them is to lay them in alphabetical order on plainly labeled ordinary book shelves wide enough to hold the larger ones, set about six inches apart, that the numbers for the past six months may be kept together.

The thin journals which are most read, like “Puck” or the “Scientific American,” may well be slipped for a week into an inexpensive binder like the one called “Cleveland” in the list which follows. Magazines much read, like the “Century” and “McClures,” can be so reinforced in a few minutes, as described below, that they will keep quite neat for several months.

This method is economical of space; keeps the journals easily in one alphabetical series; makes six numbers accessible instead of one; eliminates the question of binders; saves the assistant’s time, relatively to the service given to the public; and asks the public simply to remember their alphabet and to read the shelves.

Binders that require the punching of holes through the backs of magazines should be looked on with suspicion; though in spite of its expense the binder of this type, with flexible metal strips in place of strings and with polished sides containing actual covers of the magazine within, has had much use. It wears well, is put on about as quickly as any, exposes the date and name along the magazine’s back, and looks more attractive than any other binder when perched in rows in vertical racks.

All other binders may be divided into three kinds: The Clip, the Bar and the String.

The Clip is based on the Ballard clip idea. The Johnston is a good example. A spring in the back grips the sides of the magazine and holds the binder on. It tends to make a magazine less easy to hold open. It pleases a good many.

The Bar has for its main feature one or more strips of steel, which run down the back of the magazine and are fastened to the binder by a hinge at one end and a hook at the other. Of all of this kind the best for the money is, perhaps, the New Haven.

The String uses a string or elastic band to hold the magazine. In the one called the Springfield, first used in Los Angeles in 1890, the string passes through the magazine, between sections, and through three holes in the back of the binder in a binder’s stitch.

The Newark Library has tried many kinds of material for binders. Thin book cloth soon wears out. Heavy and strong cloth soon gets soiled. Full leather is very expensive, unless the leather used is light and poor, and then it soon wears out. Good leather backs outwear sides of any cloth. A Cleveland binder made for “Harper’s Weekly,” with heavy cowskin back and keratol sides, was in constant use for 30 months and looked well nearly all that time. It costs 70 cents. The few binders now used in the Newark reading room are made in this style.

Covers of strong paper pasted to the outsides of single copies of magazines to protect them during reading-room use or for lending, the Newark Library has not found satisfactory. We reinforce the covers of single magazines for this purpose as follows and find the method quite satisfactory:

If the original cover is loose, take it off and paste on again carefully. Line the cover with thin, white bond paper, pasted on all over and lapping a half-inch onto the magazine itself. Press for ten minutes in a copying press. Paste a strip of thin dark-colored book cloth down the back on the outside. Put under moderate pressure until dry. Write the name and date of the magazine on the strip of cloth with white ink.

Sew large magazines like the “Ladies’ Home Journal” into covers of stout paper. A strip of paper an inch and a half wide placed in the center of the section through which the magazine is sewed keeps the sewing from tearing the paper.

Single copies of magazines can be bound for lending, at about 15 cents each, in this manner: Take off covers; trim; remove table of contents if it faces the cover; paste strip of strong cotton cloth down the back, and extending about an inch over the sides; staple this on with at least three staples in the same line with the staples which hold the magazine together, or sew with stout thread through five holes; cut covers as for an ordinary binding; paste them to the strip; cover all over with art vellum; line covers with paper (this lining can be put on all over as the first step in the process, and pasted to the covers after they are on, thus forming the end paper); paste the front cover of the magazine on the front in such a way that the date line down the back comes on the back of the new cover. This is neat, convenient and quite durable.

A few of the more popular binders are listed below. The material used to cover them can be endlessly varied.

1. The New Haven Binder, designed by Mr. W. K. Stetson, Librarian of the Public Library of New Haven. A solid back of metal. A metal rod hinged at one end passes through the middle section of the magazine. The free end of the rod is formed into a hook which, being slipped under a metal loop attached to the back of the binder, holds the magazine firmly in place. Costs from 85 cents to $1.15. A simpler binder, also designed by Mr. Stetson and made on the same principles, sells at 55 cents.

2. The Johnston Binder, made by William G. Johnston & Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., has a round steel spring back which grips the magazine. Costs from 75 cents up, according to size.

3. The Boston Binder, made by the Office, Bank and Library Co., 157 Summer St., Boston. A rounded wooden back supports the binding device which consists of two bars of steel pivoted at one end and fastened at the other with a pin. Costs from 75 cents to $2.00 according to size and material used.

4. The Torsion Binder, made by the Barrett Bindery Co., 180–182 Monroe St., Chicago. Two flat steel wires are hinged to the binder at the top and fitted with knobs at the free ends. These pass inside the magazine and a slight pressure on the knobs sends the free ends of the wires into an inclined slot. Costs from 95 cents to $4.50 according to size and material used.

5. The Springfield Binder has a strip down the back of a simple cover or case, with three holes punched therein through which the magazine is laced in by strings. Shoe strings or tape may be used. Costs from 25 cents up.

6. The Chivers Binder, made by Cedric Chivers, Bath, England, and Brooklyn, N. Y., is like the Springfield cover, but with a separate flat brass rod around which the magazine is sewed into the cover.

7. The Weis Binder, made by the Weis Co., Toledo, Ohio, has metal grooves in the back which hold the magazine.

8. The Buchan Binder, made by Buchan Mfg. Co., Newark, N. J., has a steel back which consists of a hinge regulated by a screw. One or more magazines may be kept in the binder. Good for magazines that are poorly put together.

9. The Roedde Magazine Binder, made by the Flexible Back Looseleaf Ledger Co., Buffalo, N. Y., varies somewhat from the Torsion and Boston Binders, but is built on the same principle. Costs from $1.10 to $8.00.

10. Cleveland Binder, so called because much used in the Cleveland Library. A simple cover or case in the back of which are holes half an inch from the top and bottom; through these a piece of narrow elastic is sewed. The magazine, opened at the middle of a section is slipped under the elastic. Recommended for weekly journals.

11. Klip Binder, made by H. H. Ballard, Pittsfield, Mass. A simple cover attached to the magazine by a pair of steel clips, put on with keys. Price of klips, 50 cents per box of 10.

12. The Philadelphia Binder, made by G. D. Emerson, Philadelphia, Pa. A rod passes through the magazine and springs into hooks at each end of the back.

[CHAPTER IX]
Repairing Books, General Rules

The universal rule in this matter is, don’t. To this there are exceptions; but many if not most of the books which are repaired are so injured by the process itself, or by the wear they receive after they are repaired, that it would have been better for them if they had not been repaired at all, but sent direct to the binder.

Librarians do not pay sufficient attention to book surgery.

All repairing of books should be done by skilled persons. The question of whether or not repairs shall be made at all should be decided by a person who has not only technical skill in repairing; but also knowledge of the use to which the book in hand is likely to be subjected. This, because in many cases it will be evident to a person who knows about the use the books are to have that certain of them should not be repaired at all, no matter if in quite a dilapidated condition, with loose covers and loose leaves; but should be neatly wrapped in good manila paper, labeled plainly on the back and set again on the shelf. The few times in a year when little-used books are wanted do not, in many cases, warrant their rebinding. Repairs on them, no matter how well done, are likely to injure them. Books which are rarely borrowed, even though they are used occasionally, or are even a good deal handled because they stand near books which are much used, should perhaps be mended a little; loose leaves should be tipped in, at least. But work on them beyond that is often injurious.

The feeling that all books in a library should be neatly bound has caused much unnecessary expense.

In most libraries of moderate size and in all large ones, there should be a supervisor of binding and repairs; a person thoroughly familiar with the whole routine of library work, familiar also with literature, keeping close watch of the rise and fall in popularity of new books. Such a person could say, for example, that the library’s third copy of the Valley of Decision and the fourth copy of the Crisis, if ready for repairing or rebinding, could with good economy be placed on a reserve shelf, not accessible to the public, there to be held until the delivery desk assistants find a call for them. That is, she would know that with two or three copies in good condition of these books in circulation there would almost always be one in the library. When the library’s stock of such books as those named becomes reduced to one sound copy she can then tell, from the demand for it, if it is wise to bind one copy, or all; or if it is wise to do more than mend.

This omniscient person who has charge of binding and repairs, reports to the head of the library that such and such books are past repairs; that they will cost 35 to 50 cents apiece to be properly rebound, and asks, “Will the library ever want them again?” If not, then she will advise that they be given away and their cards removed from the catalog. Or, if they must be kept for historical or religious or superstitious or other reasons she will advise that they be neatly tied up in paper, labeled, and put back on the shelf.

Knowledge of the art of mending implies not only knowledge of the process of making a book by machinery and by hand; but also knowledge of the different kinds of paper, how they wear, if they break easily, if they will soon grow brittle, and the effect on them of attempts to hold them with paste or glue.

Along with this knowledge should also go knowledge of the cost of each individual book, and such knowledge of their use as will enable the repairer to decide at once whether 10, 20, or 30 cents spent in repairs will or will not pay.

As long as there are so few assistants who are at all familiar with paper, type, binding, literary quality, popularity, cost, etc., it is well to discourage almost all book repairs.

As soon as we admit, as we must, that a good book, costing from one to two dollars, must be mended carefully if at all, we have opened the door for a large expense. An assistant can easily spend an hour or two on a book, repairing its cover, mending a few leaves and putting it in order. When she gets through she will have put from 30 to 50 cents’ worth of time into it, has probably permanently injured it, and in a few months or years it will be in worse condition than if she had never touched it at all. Moreover, the same amount of money put out in cash instead of time would in many cases have rebound it.

In a measure the remarks just made apply even to popular books, much used by children or adults. It is easy to spend more money in mending them than good economy can justify. Mend sparingly; rebind early.

The reason for this warning against mending lies in the anatomy of the book and the injury it receives from handling after it begins to break up, and especially after its first breaks have been mended by a prentice hand.

The weakest point in a book is the joint. In publishers’ binding of today this joint is made by a piece of super, which is glued to the back of the book and then to the inside of the cover, plus the end paper which is pasted over it and also onto the cover. This super is weak. If it is put on with a poor glue that glue soon grows hard and the joint is further weakened thereby. It breaks or tears easily. Also, it parts easily from the back to which it is glued and from the cover. No strings or tapes pass from the book to cover. When the joint once comes loose from either back or cover, or breaks, it cannot well be either attached or mended again. It is sometimes possible to take a broken book out of its case entirely, remove the old and attach new super, add new end sheets, put it again into the case and get considerable use from it. But any other kind of mending of the joint is almost futile and even this is injurious. And the better such mending seems at first to succeed, the greater the harm it is really doing to the whole book. For the mending usually consists in pasting a strip of strong paper or cloth along the joint. This simply conveys the strain from the joint proper, where it belongs, to the first leaf of the first signature. This is only paper, usually poor at that. It soon breaks and lets its other half loose. Very commonly other injuries are worked at the same time. The book gets loose again, if it was ever really tightened. The super with hard glue attached rubs about on the backs of the signatures; several of them are cut through, and the possibility of a rebinding with proper sewing is either gone forever or can be regained only after the long labor of mending many signatures.

When the cords or bands are broken in a book in which they are used it is as useless to attempt to fasten book and cover together as it is when the super gives way in publishers’ binding.