Library Bookbinding Part 20

23. Letter by hand either with black or white ink as the case demands.

RE-SIDING

Many books which have been rebound with leather backs come to the binding department with the cloth sides badly frayed at the corners or edges. If the sewing is good and the book is clean, it is worth while to put on new sides.

1. Remove cloth sides and smooth off the inside of the board with a dull knife.

2. Cut two pieces of cloth a little larger than the sides.

3. Glue the inner surface of the cloth and place on the book, turning in the corners as described in 15 on page 187.

4. Put book in the press.

5. After book is dry, paste a single end paper over the inside of each cover.

REINFORCING

In Chapter 6 will be found a discussion of the advisability of purchasing books bound from the sheets or in reinforced publisher's covers. While it is advisable on the whole to have reinforcing done by regular library binders, the work can be done in large libraries that have proper equipment and labor. The essential principles of reinforcing are the same in all libraries that practice it, though they may differ as to minor details. The following method has proved satisfactory.

1. Remove the book from its cover, which is laid aside for future use.

If the call number is to be gilded it will be easier to do it before the cover is removed than after it is replaced.

2. Make end papers and fly-leaves of 60-pound kraft paper or 80-pound manila, guarded with jaconet on one side of the sheet. End papers should be guarded on the inside of the fold.

3. Oversew the fly-leaves to the first and last sections of the book, being careful that st.i.tches are not over one-eighth of an inch deep.

4. Sew the end papers to the fly-leaves which have just been oversewed, and paste fly-leaves and end papers together.

5. Apply a thin coating of flexible glue to the back of the book and put over it a piece of thin canton flannel cut as long as the book and wide enough to extend an inch on each side. This should be well rubbed down.

6. Paste the canton flannel which projects on the side to the end papers.

7. Glue one side of the book and place it on the proper side of the cover. Glue the side remaining uppermost and draw the cover up over it.

8. Rub both sides and back until sure that the glue is well forced into them.

9. If desired, the book may be given a coat of white sh.e.l.lac and one of varnish, after which it should be wiped with a paraffine cloth.

MAGAZINE OR PAMPHLET COVERING

1. Cut red rope manila cardboard the exact size of the two covers plus the width of the back.

2. Remove the cover of magazine or pamphlet, if possible keeping it in one piece.

3. Fit the red rope cover over the magazine, creasing carefully at the joints with a folder so that it will lie flat across the back as well as over the sides.

4. Glue the back of the magazine with flexible glue and press it firmly into the improvised cover. Rub down the back with a folder.

5. Thread a needle with stout linen thread and, using it double, at the middle of the book put the needle through from the inside to the outside. Leave about two inches of thread projecting on the inside.

6. Put the needle through from the outside about an inch from the head of the book. The needle must come through in the same section where the thread is projecting.

7. Carry the thread through to about the same distance from the tail of the book and again put the needle through from the inside to the outside.

8. Return the needle at the same place where the first st.i.tch was taken and tie to the thread left projecting in such a way as to hold fast the long thread through the center.

9. Paste the paper cover previously removed on to the new cover.

This method can be used for all pamphlets one-half inch or more thick; even for those two inches thick, provided that the use they will receive is slight. In the case of the thicker unbound books, it is necessary to sew them in two or three places.

LABELING

Few libraries can afford to have all call numbers gilded. Therefore it is necessary either to letter directly on the book, or to put call numbers in ink on a white label which has first been placed on the book.

Much objection exists to these gummed labels, because it is claimed that they come off very easily and the work soon has to be done over again.

Undoubtedly this is true if the labels are not properly put on; but if care be taken, there is no reason why the white gummed labels should not last until it is necessary to rebind a book, when of course the call number will be gilded.

Two points must be remembered in applying labels.

1. They must be put on at an even distance from the bottom of the book.

Perhaps nothing else will give a library such an unsightly appearance as uneven labels--some at the top, some in the middle and some at the bottom. The exact distance from the bottom of the book is not one of great importance, but the bottom of the label should not be less than 1-1/4 inches from the bottom of the book, nor more than two inches.

Whatever distance is adopted, it will be necessary to have a piece of cardboard which may be used as a measure when applying the label.

2. Labels must be fastened so securely that they will not come off. This seems sufficiently obvious, but as a matter of fact many a.s.sistants who do this work do not spend sufficient time to do it right.

The following directions should be followed:

_a._ If the book is new, it will be necessary to break down the glazed surface of the cloth or leather where the label is to be placed. To do this, use ammonia diluted somewhat with water. Use a brush about the width of the label and draw across the back of the book at the proper place. After having done ten or a dozen books, it is best to wipe off the ammonia with a piece of cheesecloth which brings with it the glaze.

_b._ Labels are not put on until books are dry. Use labels made of extra heavy paper, so that they will not turn dark when sh.e.l.lac is applied later. They may be moistened on a wet sponge or on some one of the numerous moisteners, or better still, they may be dipped quickly in hot water with a pair of tweezers. In using some labels it is not inadvisable to cover the gummed surface with a thin coating of paste. As soon as the label is pasted on the book straight and in proper alignment, it should be pressed firmly down with a piece of cheesecloth.

This part of the operation should not be hurried and considerable pressure should be used until the label has firmly adhered.

_c._ When dry, letter with India ink and cover label with a very thin coating of white sh.e.l.lac. Later, when the first coating is thoroughly dry, cover with a thicker coating of sh.e.l.lac. This should be done quickly and neatly. If the line of sh.e.l.lac is uneven the book has an unsightly appearance.

_d._ If books are thin, it is best to put labels on lengthwise. If very thin, put labels on front covers, near the back. If labels project over the back, trim with scissors.

If books have been used or have already had labels, the process is the same, except that no ammonia need be used.

Old labels which have been sh.e.l.laced are hard to remove. The best way is to apply ammonia and water to the label, allowing it to soak in. When thoroughly moistened, remove with a dull knife. Removing dry labels by sc.r.a.ping with a knife injures the back of the book.

LETTERING

BY HAND