Deferred binding of paperbacks

We started a "do not bind" experiment about five years ago at
Northwestern. We sent about a total of 50 unbound paperbacks up the the
stacks unbound; some from circulating collections, and some from
non-circulating collections; adhesive binds and sewn in signatures. We
tried to chose titles we thought would get heavy use (we found this was
difficult to do with a research collection).  Every six months the books
are examined to see how they are holding up.   The results to date show
that many of the books are not used very often; and that they are
holding up very well! Most of the covers are abraded, and some are
slightly dirty.

We have also begun to check the condition of the paperback books that
are put on reserve--we assumed *those* would be heavily used.  After
each quarter we collect the books that were put on reserve and have more
than 10 charges. Again, these seem to be holding up well--the leaf
attachment is good.  The covers are abraded, the corners of the pages
slightly curled.

I hope this information can help Sara Williams make a decision regarding
deferring the binding of paperbacks until they show signs of wear from
use.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 7:40
               Distributed: Wednesday, November 17, 1993
                        Message Id: cdl-7-40-004
                                  ***