Barcodes Rebinding paperbacks

On the subject of bar codes:  I am looking for specifications for bar
codes (e.g., carriers, adhesives, coatings) and would very much
appreciate any relevant information.  Responses by e-mail, mail, and
telephone are very welcome.  I'm very interested in Erich Kesse's
comments of November 15 regarding the bar code testing that took place
at the University of Florida:  "Our tests found that the "paper" was
within standard for pH, etc. ...The adhesive appeared similarly within
standard."  What's out there in the way of standards for mechanical and
chemical stability?

On the subject of paperbacks that are "no longer in print, falling
apart, not brittle, and printed with such narrow margins that the
commercial bindery can't cope with them":  If a commercial bindery has
properly adjusted milling machines for removing the adhesive from the
spines of text blocks, and can perform double-fan adhesive binding
properly, it is *highly* unusual for margins to be so narrow that a
volume cannot be bound--and bound successfully.  Once in a while a
pocket guide book loaded with maps will have virtually no inner
margins--but these types of materials are very much the exception, not
the rule.  If you're having problems binding even 1% of paperbacks from
a general collection, something is wrong with either the library's
binding specifications or the bindery's procedures.  Be glad to provide
more information to anyone experiencing problems.

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Jan Merrill-Oldham, Head            /   /    l
Preservation Department           /__ /      l
University of Connecticut         l Sl       l
Homer Babbidge Library            l Al       l
U-5P                              l Vl       l
Storrs, Conn.  06269-1005         l El       l
(203) 486-6019                    l  l      /
HBLADM18 [at] UCONNVM__BITNET           l Ml    /
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                  Conservation DistList Instance 4:28
                Distributed: Saturday, November 24, 1990
                        Message Id: cdl-4-28-002
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