Buy or bind

There are several benefits to buying the paperback version of a book,
and binding it before it enters the collection;

    - there is usually a very large difference in price between paper
      and hard cover; far more than the binding and handling costs

    - library bindings are made to last longer that most publisher
      editions, are usually better quality, with better ph of materials

    - there are at least two options in bind style possible for a new
      papercovered book

              *1 or 2 less expensive binding styles designed for
               paperbacks         OR
              *standard monograph binding

         Both of the above options are less costly than rebinding after
         some wear has occured.  A "rebind" tends to incur added charges
         related to removing old bindings and glue, restoring or
         repairing pages etc.

At Stanford Libraries, to maximize book funds, I believe it is policy to
buy the paper edition whenever possible.  Our binding policy provides
library binding for a major portion of the new paperbacked materials
being received.

A selective "NO BIND" rule has been in place for about 2 1/2 yrs.
During the sorting process for new paperbacked materials, we selct those
well bound items which we believe will hold up well on the shelves for a
time without being given library binding..  The main criteria are that
the volume must be securely sewn in signatures and have fairly
supportive covers.  The cover cannot be the only title page.  Any
increase in usage or signs of wear can trigger the bind decision by the
stack staff.

While there are obvious drawbacks, given our libraries with relatively
low use rate per volume compared to some other institutions, the process
has so far been working very well.  We have selected about 5000 main
stack volumes per year to bypass the binding step.  This has allowed us
to use the equivalent funds for retrospective binding in certain areas.

ROUGH COST COMPARISON

A paperback in good condition which will not require special treatment
because of expected heavy usage, will cost Stanford roughly half as much
to bind new as it would sending it later, mainly because after the
damage begins to be apparent (particularly the spine is no longer
squared, but either slanted or concave, or pages coming out) the volume
can no longer be sent to the bindery as a paperback style of binding.
New paperbacks can be handled quickly and straighforwardly.  The greater
the damage to the book being rebound, the more time the bindery staff
must take, thus the greater the rebind cost.  These fall in standard
monograph category.

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                   Conservation DistList Instance 4:4
                  Distributed: Thursday, May 21, 1990
                        Message Id: cdl-4-4-004
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