Dust jackets

In Cons DistList Instance: 8:2, Linda Sootheran
    <sootheran [at] bigvax__alfred__edu> wrote:

>If any of you have
>researched or have had experience about whether to keep or discard dust
>jackets as a conservationally sound practice, I would be interested in
>your supportive arguments.

This is a long overdue response to Linda Sootheran's request of June 15
for information on conservation implications of the use of dust jackets.

Data from the LSCA survey of 4 Massachusetts public libraries that I
directed in 1991-92 showed low levels of spine damage to trade bindings,
despite much heavier use and higher circulation than one would find in
academic libraries.  Only 4% overall had spine damage.  When the data
was recently analyzed by decade, we found that only 4% of non-fiction
and 12% of fiction books published in the 1960s had any spine damage.
These books typically have had dust jackets.  It is interesting to
speculate whether the jackets take the brunt of pulling from the shelves
and also prevent light damage.

Information on the LSCA survey will appear in Advances in Preservation
and Access, Volume 2, scheduled for release early next year.  I am
currently preparing articles on the implications of the survey findings
for public library preservation.

Nancy Schrock
15 Cabot St.
Winchester, MA 01890

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 8:39
               Distributed: Wednesday, November 23, 1994
                        Message Id: cdl-8-39-003
                                  ***