Book Repair

Libraries of all types have books that need to be repaired or conserved, especially in light of budget restrictions that may prohibit purchasing replacements. Limited funds also mean that this activity is increasingly handled in-house. Fortunately, there is a comprehensive source to which you can turn with all your questions: Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual, Second Edition Revised by Kenneth Lavender with revisions by Artemis BonaDea.

Covering both basic book repair techniques and sound preservation practices, this practical, step-by-step manual offers illustrated sections on cleaning, mending, hinge and spine repair, strengthening paperbacks, and more. Other topics include: wet and water-damaged books; mold and mildew; repair of book linings and pamphlet bindings; using acid-free materials to repair damaged books; lining paper objects; affordable repair tools and supplies, and much more. A full discussion of when and how to make repairs is provided, as is a discussion of alternative conservation practices that will enable each librarian to develop procedures appropriate to his or her library.

Throughout the book, more than 110 detailed diagrams, photographs, and drawings illustrate each repair technique.

Previous editions of Kenneth Lavender’s Book Repair: A How-To-Do-It Manual have firmly established this as the go-to reference. This revision not only provides a comprehensive compendium of book repair topics and illustrated processes, but also contains updates throughout, a brand-new glossary, and a wealth of leads for Web-based informational resources.

Summary Table of Contents:

• The Basics: Tools and Techniques
• Paper Cleaning
• Treatment of Water-Damaged Books and Papers and Removal of Mold and Mildew
• Paper Mending
• Hinge and Spine Repair
• Protective Enclosures