Books

Some miscellaneous advice

Dust jackets

Dust jackets serve a dual purpose: they protect the surface of the binding materials, but they are often far more decorative than modern bindings. They are often the first part of the book to become damaged.

Some dust jackets are important to the value of the book, and so should be protected.

If you have a valued dust jacket you want to protect, you may decide to remove it and store it safely when the book is being used. If you do this, you may want to put a substitute jacket on your book.

You may prefer to cover the dust jacket while it is on the book. If you do this, choose stable material. Polypropylene is soft enough to fold around the cover and is transparent. Mylar would be more difficult to use and has sharp corners when folded. Secure the overlaps of the covering material with double-sided tape; but don't allow sticky tapes to be in direct contact with your book or dust jacket.

It is strongly recommended that you avoid using any self-adhesive covering materials.

The adhesive used on these covering materials can work its way into the printed surface of the dust jacket, making the covering material almost impossible to remove later.

Uncut pages

Sometimes you come across a book in which the pages are still joined and the book cannot be read.

If the book is valuable or is a collector's item, it may be wise to consult a book valuer before going ahead and cutting the pages; in some cases the uncut paper can increase the value of the book.

Don't cut the pages yourself unless you feel confident that you can do the job without damaging the paper. It is very easy to end up with uneven cuts and jagged edges.

To cut the pages, it is necessary to place a very sharp knife-blade between the pages and slice carefully along the fold. You may need to use a scalpel to get right into the spine, if you are cutting at the head of the book.

If you are not confident about attempting this yourself, ask a conservator for advice or assistance.

Book conservators and bookbinders

Book conservators and bookbinders have a different approach to the treatment of damaged books. Both approaches have their place, but you may want to consider some of these differences before deciding who to consult.

Book conservators following their code of ethics should:

• aim for minimum intervention in treatments;

• use stable and reversible materials;

• retain all original materials. Even if they cannot put all of them back in place they should keep them and return them to you. This way you have all the historic evidence from the book;

• document the structure and materials in the book, as well as the damage, before commencing the treatment; and

• avoid changing the structure unless the structure itself is causing damage.

Many bookbinders work in a similar way to conservators, but you will also find that some bookbinders:

• use unstable adhesives such as animal glue, and irreversible adhesives such as PVA;

• proceed with the job without documentation;

• discard original materials and at times will not attempt to re-use them;

• alter the structure; and

• trim the head, tail and foredge after resewing a book. This gives a very even edge, but inevitably makes the textblock smaller.

Think about what sort of job you want and why you are having the work done—it should help you to decide who to go to for your book repairs.