[PADG:1780] Re: Cleaning up after Demco Fastape

["Patricia P. Selinger" <pepalmer@xxxxxxx>]

I am curious also how others address this problem, if they have it, and if you
got any good responses.  Unfortunately, VCU had someone taping books for the
slightest damage 'way back when.  In my observation, the tape doesn't damage
adjacent items, and I haven't noticed the adhesive residue falling off unless
the tape is removed.   I'm curious if your colleague has observed acidic
transfer to adjacent books from the tape or damage from loose grit.

Taped books that come through circulation and stacks staff are placed on a
"damaged books" shelf along with other damage and those acidic pamphlet
binders.   The need to remove the tape and correct the repair is evaluated
according to staffing, workflow, the extent to which the damage affects the use
of the book.  The most common problem I see is the tabs that extend over the
cover to the inside tend to pull the endsheet away from the textblock.  Most of
the repairs involve replacing the spine and endsheets.  We don't generally take
the time to remove the adhesive; the icky part is removed and the new spine
placed over it.  This work is placed in the queue along with other work,
including replacing acidic pamphlet covers.  An item may move from the queue to
priority if a patron requests it.

Our priorities are based on use:
1) journals not available online
2) monographs in the N, TR, TK, QA, and HV classes in that priority order
3) other monographs
4) journals available online

Patricia

Normandy Helmer wrote:

> A colleague has asked about dealing with materials that had been repaired
> with Demco Fastape. As you are probably all aware, the adhesive turns into a
> gritty dust. She's concerned about the potential for damage to nearby books
> by the residue, and needs to know if this deserves priority project status.
> It's a mid-sized academic research library.
>
> In my experience, use of the tape dates from a time when we did really bad
> repairs,  books patched with this stuff were pretty worn by heavy
> circulation to begin with, and as boards and spine are usually trashed they
> need significant treatment to look reasonable again. In general, we've done
> commercial rebind rather than repair them. I put replacement of acidic
> pamphlet binders as a much higher priority than tape remediation.
>
> I didn't find anything on CoOL about the components of the adhesive, and
> would appreciate any information about the impact of the residue, nifty
> fixes, and thoughts about priority.
>
> Thanks
>
> Normandy Helmer
> Coordinator of Preservation & Digital Services/
> Oregon Newspaper Project
> University of Oregon Libraries--SpecColl
> 1299 University of Oregon
> Eugene, OR 97403-1299
> 541-346-1864/fax 541-346-1882
> nhelmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

--

**********************************
Patricia Palmer Selinger
Head, Preservation Services
VCU Libraries
Richmond, VA
phone: 804.828.1096
pepalmer@xxxxxxx
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