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[PADG:2252] Re: Glue sticks & book pockets
Tyra,
Very thoughtful questions. This was my general thinking when I
decided to approve/recommend this product to the Yale community.
- This product is only being used in circulating collections, not
special collections. I know, the distinctions are sometimes a
little unclear, but I would not now recommend this product for any
material that truly qualified as special or rare.
- The acrylic adhesive should be reasonably stable over time. My
concern here is that we don't really have complete information. All
that I have is the MSDS. Also, the normal caveat continues
true--without a national standard, the manufacturers could start using a
horrible, rubber-based adhesive overnight, and we wouldn't know.
It's pretty unlikely, and we don't have the resources to examine every
batch.
- Any pocket application causes irreparable damage. A thin bead
of glue on the left and right of a paper pocket might cause less damage,
but for the 20, 30, etc. years of the pocket's presence, you can't even
SEE the pastedown. And normally, pockets aren't meant to be
removed. I think very few people use wheat or rice starch paste for
pockets. If libraries care that much, they're not using pockets.
- An interesting point about color change--I have found three examples
thus far where there was a color change in the printed image under the
pocket. I think all of them are basically the same thing, but
here's a closer description of one of them: a seemingly black and white
map, with solid lines for borders and text and fine halftones for
shading. Under the pocket, the lines and text remain black, but the
halftone areas take on a distinct deep blue appearance. The color
hasn't run--each dot is now a blue dot. Upon very close inspection,
the halftones are printed with a super-dark blue. Why the color
shift? I think it's refraction somehow, especially since it is
immediate, but it could actually be something chemical. In any
case, the information of the map is completely legible.
As to workflow: All new items destined for circulating
collections that use the date due receipt are getting the pockets in
shelf-prep. We have literally millions of items in the stacks that
either have (or don't!) the paste-in date due with the two columns.
As these are checked out, a pocket is applied by the circ
staff.
Hope this helps.
Erika Heinen
Collections Care Librarian
Yale University Library
203-432-1721
At 11:06 AM 2/11/2004 -0600, you wrote:
Erika,
Since these Gaylord pockets are transparent, are you concerned about the
adhesive over time causing damage and pastedown discoloration (bad
enough) that would then show through the transparent cover?---I'm
thinking 20,30 or more years.... Do you have reason to believe this
(discoloring) might not happen? Or are you able to think
around this somehow---e.g., by considering various trade-offs w/downsides
of traditional pockets?
One more question for anyone---do any of you apply pockets at circulation
the first time the book is checked out (rather than during
processing)? It seems that the easy-to-apply adhesive on these
pockets might make pocket application at first circulation possible and
save those books that are never borrowed. Just a thought.
Thanks for this information,
Tyra Grant
Head, Preservation Department
Northwestern University Library
At 10:10 AM 2/11/2004 -0500, you wrote:
Tyra,
For about six months now, we have been using a newish product offered by
Gaylord.
It's called a Perfect Pocket, and consists of a polyethylene pocket with
an acrylic pressure sensitive adhesive. It is sealed on three
sides, the front is slightly shorter than the back, and the front is
folded over to strengthen that edge and to make insertion of a date due
slip easier. A simple accelerated aging failed to show any
significant interaction with any of the papers we tried it on--beyond the
obvious fact that it is not realistically reversible.
Of course, nothing's ever "perfect", so we had Gaylord
customize the pocket to make it wider. The original design is fine
for the standard old-fashioned date due slip, either the folder stock or
typing paper kind. However, many of our libraries at Yale have
switched over to the cash register receipt type date due slip, and the
paperstock is wider.
The guards really like the clear pockets because they can match the
barcode on the date due receipt with the barcode on the book without
messing with the receipt. Also, the clear pocket doesn't obscure
printed endsheets. Circulation staff appreciate having a pressure
sensitive pocket rather than something requiring applied
adhesives.
Many advantages, but not reversible.
Erika Heinen
Collections Care Librarian
Yale University Library
203-432-1721