[PADG:1490] RE: paperback children's books

["Baird, Brian J" <bbaird@xxxxxxxxx>]

Kapco covers will help protect the cover, but they will do blessed little to
help the bindings hold together.  In fact, depending on how stiff of a
paperback stiffening material is used, the stiffened covers could separate
from the text blocks even sooner than for non-stiffened books.    

Frankly, if I were faced with your situation I would seriously consider
having the children's books prebound by your library binder.  They can reuse
the covers to make laminate covers so that the original art work is
preserved.  The library bound books will hold together MUCH better than
publisher bindings.  Talk to your library binder to learn what they can do
to help you.

Another option it to work closely with your circulation staff so that they
identify things needing rebinding early on before they are too damaged.
Doing this will allow your library to only bind those items needing binding
rather than prebinding everything.  

That is the short answer.  Feel free to contact me directly if you have any
further questions.

Brian Baird

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Brian J. Baird 
Preservation Librarian 
University of Kansas Libraries
Watson Library
1425 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, KS 66045-7544
(785) 864-3568
fax: (785) 864-5311
bbaird@xxxxxx
www2.lib.ku.edu/preservation





-----Original Message-----
From: Annie Armour [mailto:aarmour@xxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, November 06, 2001 2:41 PM
To: padg@xxxxxxx
Subject: [PADG:1489] paperback children's books


Our library will soon begin to receive paperback books for a children's
>literature section for their education classes. Since our library is also
>used by the community, we anticipate high use from children as well.
>
>We are just beginning to think about the best way to care for these books.
>I'd like to know what other libraries do.
>
>Tech Services has mentioned having Kapco covers placed on the books as they
>are ordered, but our company will then do it to all of our "mass market"
>books, which to me seems a waste of money since I would think the glue
>fails in those bindings soon enough anyway.
>
>My initial thoughts are to put laminate covers like Kapco on all young
>readers' books (paperback), and rebind them in-house when necessary. For
>older children's books, we would do nothing at first, but rebind when the
>binding fails.
>
>Do Kapco covers prolong the bindings of the books or just keep the covers
>from falling apart?
>
>Also, when it comes time to rebind those picture books (often very thin),
>how would you rebind them? So many children's books are side sewn, but
>these would have glued pages with pictures that bleed across the page.
>
>Please let me know what you do.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Annie Armour
>University of the South
>Sewanee, Tennessee
>aarmour@xxxxxxxxxxx