Library Bookbinding Part 22

CHAPTER XII

PAMPHLETS

Fortunately it is not necessary to decide here the ever-vexing question "When is a pamphlet not a pamphlet?" From the binding viewpoint any printed matter of more than four pages which does not have a stiff cover is a pamphlet and it is within the province of the binding a.s.sistant to prepare it for the shelves.

Unbound material in libraries is of three kinds: periodicals; serial publications which are not periodicals such as annual reports, bulletins of societies or government bureaus, etc.; and separate pamphlets not numbered, of a monographic character. The binding of periodicals forms part of the regular routine and is discussed elsewhere in this book.

Annual reports and other publications of a serial character should be filed in pamphlet boxes on the regular shelves at the end of the bound set. When a sufficient number of reports have collected they may be bound in cloth by decades or half-decades, according to the thickness of the reports. In many libraries most of such publications need not be bound at all, but will answer every purpose if wrapped in paper and lettered by hand. Serials other than annual reports generally give some indication of which numbers should be bound together, if bound at all.

If there be no change of numbering or no completion of volume numbers to indicate a separation, they should be arbitrarily grouped in volumes of a convenient size, conforming if possible to one or more calendar years, and bound or wrapped in paper. If series are not to be kept together they should be treated as described in the following paragraphs.

Monographic works in unbound form range in size from those of a dozen pages to those of several hundred. Probably the best arrangement for a large part of this material is to a.s.sign a subject heading or a cla.s.s number and keep in a vertical file alphabetically or by cla.s.s number.

With this the binding department has no concern, but there are always a number of pamphlets which have permanent value for the library and which should be treated in the same way as a book with stiff covers.

Undoubtedly the cheapest way to prepare pamphlets not over one-half inch thick for the shelves is to put them into g.a.y.l.o.r.d binders. These are made of board sides connected at the back by a strip of cloth and having on the inside gummed flaps which can be attached to the back of the pamphlet. There are thirty different sizes ranging from 5 by 7 inches to 12-1/2 by 17 inches. They are made in two qualities, the photo-mount costing from $3.15 to $13.60 per hundred and press board costing from $4.25 to $17.60 a hundred.[6] If the pamphlet has a cover as well as a t.i.tle page, the cover should be taken off and pasted to the outside of the front cover of the binder. In addition to moistening and attaching the gummed flaps, it will be found necessary in many cases either to wire through the back of the pamphlet with some kind of a stapling machine, or to sew through as described on page 190 for attaching red rope manila to circulating magazines.

Footnote 6: Prices increased 10 per cent April 10, 1916.

When the pamphlet is firmly attached in the binder it should be lettered in white ink along the back. If the pamphlet is very thin it will be necessary to letter author, t.i.tle and call number along the back edge of the front cover, close to the back. If the original cover has not been pasted on the outside it will also be necessary to letter author and t.i.tle across the front cover.

Pamphlets which are too big to go into the binders can be bound in regular book form if their use will warrant the expense. If the use will be slight they can be made very serviceable by using the red rope manila as described on page 190.

Very large libraries keep all pamphlets permanently. Those which are not sufficiently important to treat as books are generally kept in cla.s.sified order in temporary cases. When a sufficient number have been collected on any subject they may be bound together in volumes of proper size. So far as possible pamphlets of the same size should be bound together in cloth, but they may vary a little if they are level on top.

The expense of binding in this way is, of course, much less than if each pamphlet had been put in a binder. Smaller libraries may perhaps be well advised to bind in this way pamphlets having a local interest which must be kept permanently.

It is not necessary to discuss here the various kinds of temporary homes of pamphlets, such as manila folders, envelopes, wooden or pasteboard boxes, Ballard klips, etc. They all have their uses, and each librarian must work out whatever scheme seems best to him.

CHAPTER XIII

BINDERY IN THE LIBRARY BUILDING

How large an amount of binding must a library have before it becomes economical to establish a bindery in the library building? This question is frequently asked and is difficult to answer. In the first place, local conditions must be taken into consideration. Is there in the same city a library bindery which does satisfactory work at reasonable prices, or must work be sent a long distance away? Is there ample room in the building and is it easily adapted to binding purposes? Can a good foreman be employed? Is the local rate of wages so high as to make the cost of the binding in the library equal the cost in a good bindery outside the city? These are some of the questions which must be considered.

Some of the advantages in having a bindery in the building are as follows:

1. It is more convenient. When books are much needed they can be found and generally used, even if incompletely bound.

2. There is less chance of losing books. When books are sent to a binder who does the work of other libraries also there is always a chance of loss. The binder, of course, is responsible, but one would always rather have the book than the cash value.

3. There is no chance of damage to books in transit.

4. Repairs which are too difficult for the ordinary library mender to make can easily be done in the library bindery at slight cost.

5. The books need not as a rule spend so long a time in the bindery. If perchance the bindery becomes clogged with extra work the librarian can rush the books that are needed most. If such books are in another bindery, especially when that bindery is outside the city, it is difficult to get the books that are needed first.

6. There is a certain amount of compet.i.tion which works to advantage if part of the books have to be bound outside. The outside binder knows that the librarian who operates a bindery in his own building knows something about the cost of binding, and he realizes that unless his prices are reasonable and his work good he need not expect to be favored.

7. The librarian can at all times inspect materials on hand and see the books in the process of binding. The bindery outside the building can sometimes subst.i.tute inferior materials without fear of detection for many months.

8. When the work reaches a certain amount it can be done at reduced cost in the library, since the ordinary profits of the bindery will accrue to the library.

9. It is much easier to make experiments with new materials or new processes. While the outside binder does not care to get a small quant.i.ty of a new material, the library which owns its own bindery can do so easily.

10. A bindery in the library can do much work, such as the mounting of maps or photographs, gilding of call numbers and book-mending, which needs skilled workmen. Such work frequently remains undone, either because the regular library force has no time to do it or because it seems unwise to send it outside the library.

Such are some of the benefits, but only the larger libraries which bind many thousands of volumes can take advantage of them successfully from the financial standpoint. In order to be administered economically there must be sufficient work to keep several workmen busy. It probably is not wise to open a bindery when the annual expenditure for binding is less than $4,000.

There are two ways in which a library bindery may be administered. Under the first plan the library buys all material and hires all the workmen, employing a foreman on salary to take charge. A schedule of prices which is lower than the prices paid to outside binders should be adopted, and the total value of binding in a year based on this schedule must equal the cost of material, wages and depreciation on the value of the plant.

Under this plan the work may be unexcelled in quality, but there is no incentive to produce it in quant.i.ty. So long as the work turned out balances the outlay the employees, unless they are exceptionally conscientious, are satisfied. There is also the added difficulty of finding a competent foreman. Any man who is able to manage a library bindery successfully is able to manage any bindery successfully and he will not be willing to work for the salary which the library can afford to pay. The librarian himself, hara.s.sed as he is with many problems, must of necessity leave such matters as the purchase of material and the hiring of workmen to the foreman in whom he must have implicit confidence. The librarian cannot a.s.sume the same att.i.tude toward his bindery foreman that the proprietor of a regular bindery may a.s.sume. He is not skilled in the craft, does not know about materials, especially leathers, and cannot direct the work.

Under the second plan the library lets the work out by contract to some binder who agrees to do the work in the building. The contractor is under no expense for rent, heat and light, and in arranging prices this is taken into consideration. It is obvious that it is to the interest of the binder to turn out as large a number of books as possible. Since the librarian has safeguarded the library in the contract by specifying that all materials and work must meet with his approval, this plan is more advantageous to him than the former plan. The contract should allow for frequent revision of schedule.

Under the first plan the librarian will be obliged to buy all machinery, tools and materials, and to hire the workmen. Under the second plan he may have to buy the machinery and tools, but the purchase of materials and the hiring of labor will be in the hands of the contractor.

A good binding plant will contain the articles in the following list.

Those marked * are necessary, even when the amount of work turned out is small:

* 1 sewing frame

* 1 standing press

* 4 dozen press-boards (all sizes)

* 1 glue pot

* 3 hammers

* 1 board shears

* 1 lever paper cutter

1 perforating machine

2 extra cutting knives

* 1 hammering-block with plate

1 grindstone

* 1 paring stone

* 1 oil stone

* 2 pairs of shears