1281

The Library Collections

Conservation Discussion Group:
Taking a Comprehensive look
at Book Repair
Maria GrandineHe and Randy Silverman

A national effort to improve the quality of book repair operations is under

way. This work has been spearheaded by the Library Collections Conserva-
tion Discussion Group (LCCDG) of the American Institute for Conserva-
tion. During the past three years LCCDG has broadly examined samples of
book repair techniques in order to identify and document those practices
that are appropriate for use in research library collections. III addition to
close scrutiny of technical specifications, the group is addressillg issues such
as: expanding treatment selection gUidelines to encompass histOrically sig-
nificant materials housed in the stacks; investigating methods for achieving
ecollomic and effiCient operations; defining the degree and form of documen-
tation required ; identifying educatiollal needs within the field; alld explOring
ways to support training workshops and programs.

LibraI)' conseIVators and, to a growing from the failure of older techniques? Are
degree, book repair technicians are im- our routines for selecting, sorting, and
mersed in a process of reevaluation. This repairing e(.'Onomical? Does our rationale
critical subgroup oflibrarianship is taking for repair have su bstance ? Do repair tech-
a fresh l<xlk at its approach to repairing nicians have the training, resources, and
books and pamphlets not deSignated as support they need to perform their jobs?
"rare," a population of material compris-
ing the majority of holdings in U.S.librar-
LIBRARY COLLECTIONS
ies. The dialogue centers on the basic
CONSERVATION DISCUSSION GROUP
gUidelines of practice: How can we ac-
complish the greatest good for the largest Since 1992, the LibraI)' Collections Con-
portion of the collection? What are the servation Discussion Group (LCCDG) of
techniques at our disposal , and how well the American Institute of Conservation of
are they serving us? What can be learned Historic and Artistic Works (AIC) has

MAllIA GIlA:\D1:\ETTE is Preservation Officer, The Hoove r Institution on War. Revolution and
Peace, Stanford University. RA:\J)Y SII.VER~A:\ is Preservation Librarian. Marriott Library,
University of Utah. This paper is extrapolated from an ahstract puhlished by the American
Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (A le Abstracts 1994) and presented
at the 22d annual meeting in Nash,·ille. Jun e 9. 1994. Imited manuscript received Mart·h 15.
1994: re\ised March 29, 1994: accepted lilr publication MardI :31. 19H4.
2821 LRTS • 38(3) • Grandinette and Silverman

emerged as the principal national forum hy other major repair programs and to
for the dialogue about book repair. Its exchange information. This workshop for-
purpose is to foster improvements in the mat proved so successful it has been
management and implementation of c.'On- adopted as a model for exchanging infor-
servation programs for non-rare library mation at the regional level by the Asso-
collections. Participants include members ciation of College and Research Ubraries,
of the Book and Paper Group of the AIC New England chapter, Preservation/Con-
involved in library conservation, book re- servation Interest Group.
pair technicians, and preservation admin- What became immediately clear from
istrators responSible fCJr repair programs. the cross-section of work exhibited in Buf-
Together they have voluntarily elected to falo is that nationally, lx)()k repair work has
function as a liaison between the conser- much in common. The profession has
vation and library communities, working taken to heart the significant (.'ontribu-
to pu hlicize issues related to the state of tions of Morrow and Dyal (1986),
bCXJk repair in the United States. The pri- Milevski (1985), Greenfield (1984), and
mary role of LCCDG has been to act as Kvle (1983), authors of texts written ex-
a catalyst for discussions on technical plicitly about book repair. Our work is also
and managerial options available to im- indebted to others, especially John Dean
prove the quality and permanence of and Gary Frost, who have organized many
book repair within academic and re- training programs and are teaching tire-
search libraries. lessly today.
What also became clear in Buffalo was
that these hasic "core repair techniques"
BUFFALO
were not diverse enough to meet all the
To date, the LCCDG has organized two needs of collections repair. All circulating
events to review and refine treatment or heavily used hooks break down from
specifications for the full range of lXXJk similar types of structural damage: tom
repair activities. The first was at the 1992 joints and hinges, broken sewing, failed
annual conference of the AIC in Buffalo, adhesive textblocks, etc. But each library
where, on 150 linear feet of display tables, also has examples of bindings that need
twenty-five exhibitors representing li- more complex solutions than have been
braries from across the United States and widely discussed. Exposing professional
Canada brought examples of repair work bexJk repair technicians and book conser-
produced at their institutions or commer- vators to a "trade show" of binding options
cial facilities. Each sample was accompa- results in a healthy exchange of creative
nied by an identification label that de- ideas.
scribed salient features of the treatment For example, when faced with dam-
speCification, such as: aged 18th- and 19th-century leather bind-
1. A deSCription of the technique includ- ings, conservators are now more freely
ing materials used; adopting the use of the Etherington toned
2. The type of problem it was designed Japanese paper hinge (Etherington 1992)
to overcome; and Cains/Espinosa hoard-tacketing
3. The average time it took to execute; (Espinosa and Barrios 1991)-two rela-
4. The cost of materials; and tively quick solutions for reattaching
5. The number produced by the institu- leather boards. The lapped-case struc-
tion per year. ture, revitalized by Frost (1982), is being
Exhibitors also drafted institutional adopted as a durable alternative to the
profiles (which subsequently were pub- traditional case binding structure. Thick
lished) to help place their work within a and heavy volumes are receiving split-
programmatic c.'Ontext (Grandinette and board bindings deSigned to ac.'COmmodate
Silverman 1992; Silverman and Grandi- their weight. First linings of paste and
nette 1993). This exhibit provided the first Japanese paper are being used before ap-
opportunity for most participants to ex- plication of a second lining of polyvinyl
amine book repair techniques produced acetate adhesive (PVA) to prevent the
 LRTS • 38(3) • Notes 011 Operations 1283

PYA from coming into direct contact with her of variables such as condition, use,
the folds of the sections. Finally, spine value, and structure of the specific book
labels are "generated" with computer in hand. For example, if the text is brittle,
graphic arts programs and printed with it might require replacement or reformat-
laser printers. ting. If the hook is rare, it might need the
services of a conservator. If its paper is
strong, the margins sufficiently wide, and
DENVER
its projected use utilitarian, the book may
Needless to say, one meeting was not be sent for commercial library binding.
enough. LCCDG reconvened at the an- However, if library hinding is inappropri-
nual conference of the AIC in Denver in ate due to considerations of speed, e(.'()n-
1993; again participants brought book re- omy, or specific need for additional care
pair samples. This time the LCCDG in its treatment, the book might well re-
members were organized into groups that quire book repair.
paired types of damage with similar types
of treatment options. Isolating thirty or
USE-DRIVEN PROGRAMS
more examples of specific solutions al-
lowed conservators and technicians to Under the shadow of decreasing budgets,
work toward consensus on standardizing institutions, from the impoverished to the
book repair nomenclature. Also ad- well-endowed, require responSible man-
dressed were organizational and philo- agement of their resources. For this rea-
sophical topics that pertain to library col- son, book repair is predominately "use"
lections repair. driven; that is, damaged items selected for
repair are identified as a result of screen-
ing that occurs after circulation or prior to
BOOK REPAIR AS A DISCIPLINE
reshelving. This approach embodies the
The environment in which library conser- realization that a damaged book in use is
vation is practiced varies considerably at greater risk of sustaining further dam-
from other conservation diSciplines. li- age than a damaged book at rest on the
braries, books, and reading are more com- shelf.
monly integrated into daily life than, for
instance, an oil painting or a Renaissance
BATCH-WORK
sculpture. Their utilitarian use exposes
books regularly to more than contempla- An efficient book repair program strives
tive appreciation; they are borrowed, to process large numbers of materials and
stowed, photocopied, deposited in book return them in useful condition to circu-
drops, and inadvertently abused. Also sig- lation . The ideal is to work economically
nificant to their longevity is the rate of to perform treatments that are at once
deterioration of the organic materials neat, quick, tough. and nondamaging. Pe-
making up the physical hook, a factor riodic, ongoing maintenance can improve
equally weighty in the preservation of all a collection's overall condition.
artistic or historic objects. Workflow and strategic organization
The primary goal of library preserva- are critical elements to a repair program's
tion is to extend the useful life of each success. In pursuit of efficiency, book re-
item in the collection for as long as it is pair operations often incorporate "hatch-
needed to satisfy the institution's objec- work," that is, the practice of identifying
tives. Book repair can contribute signifi- a group of materials exhibiting similar
cantly to preventing and correcting cer- treatment problems, performing a dis-
tain types of damage and forms one crete step to each book before proceeding
component of a comprehensive preserva- to the next step, and working through this
tion program. In light of a library's cycle of repairs until all books in a group
programmatic options, alternative ap- are completed. This approach (.'()ntrasts
proaches can provide solutions as well, with rare book conservation, which gener-
and decision makers must weigh a num- ally engages in one-of-a-Idnd treatments,
2841 LRTS • 38(3) • Grandinette and Silvennan

although batch-work has a role there as en masse for non-rare library materials.
well. Ideally, a book repair operation ap- These records provide a repair depart-
proaches its work with a full complement ment with feedback about the effective-
of options and relies on either approach as ness and durability of specific techniques
needed, ack-nowledging that even with over time, and document the evolution of
batch-work, the competent technician materials for future reference.
must make adjustments for variations be-
tween individual books, such as in deter-
SELECTION FOR TREATMENT
mining board thickness or the position of
a joint. Matching a treatment problem to a repair
specification is handled on an item-by-
item basis. The decisions governing the
TREATMENT TO SPECIFICATION
flow of work through the repair shop must
Book repair employs what Glen Ruzicka balance a number of variables, including:
calls "treatment to specification." This ap- 1. The appropriateness and aVailability
proach allows a single well-trained super- of other preservation options for
visor to coordinate with a high degree of treating damaged materials, including
success the work of a large number of library binding;
technicians or student employees. Con- 2. The total number of items needing
trasting the difference between single- repair based on the library's use pat-
item conservation and book repair, Ruz- terns and the overall condition of the
icka (1992,17-18) suggests: collection;
In book repair, one or more specifimtions 3. The rate of flow through the shop
are defined and items for treatment are based on availability of staff, their
b'roupedaccording[ly] .. . . The [rare book] technical proficiency, and the library's
conservator begins with the item and de- rate of demand for finished work; and
rives the specs, the hook repairer hegins 4. The appropriateness of the technical
with the specs and defines the item ("this solutions selected for the material be-
is a rehack"; "this is a hinge repair") ... ing treated.
the definition of the specifications is key. Inadvertent but permanent damage to
A variety of specifications are desirable; the collection can occur through the ap-
however, too many options can lead to a plication of techniques that later prove
random , "How shall I do it this time" ap- undesirable. While each library must es-
proach. Book repair is not conservation. tablish its own approach to setting treat-
Treatment to specification is essential to ment guidelines, certain materials require
any hook repair service, in-house or on additional attention if they are to be prop-
contract. Conservation treatment. on the erly preserved. For example, due to cur-
other hand. can function with six or sixty rent rebinding practices the re is growing
alternative treatm e nt specifications . concern among some conservators and li-
Treatment to specification requires brarians about the loss of original 19th-
that considerable thought and time be and early 20th-century puhlishers' bind-
devoted to developing specifications that ings . These hooks are no longer produced.
meet a specific institution 's requirements. They lack the protection afforded books
The specification should include a de- housed in speCial collections and they are
scription of the applicability of the treat- disappearing at an alarming rate.
me nt, a description of the technique de- Formal criteria to prevent the loss of
tailing all steps and materials used, and this material are heing implemented, as
the time the treatment takes on average demonstrated hy Harvard's "Collection
to perform. There is a growing consensus Guidelines at Widener Library" (Schrock
that written treatment specifications, in 1992, 40). Guidelines to help selectors
conjunction \vith the date of treatment identify these endangered hooks should
routinelv recorded in the finished book, include the following considerations:
can fun~tion as treatment documentation 1. Rarity, i.e., uniqueness;
 LRTS • 38(3) • Notes on Operations 1285

2. Historical significance, i.e., exempli- ries of pamphlets in 1980 and 1981 outlin-
(ving physical evidence of technologi- ing techniques for making wraparounds,
cal advancements that accompanied pamphlets, tip-ins and pockets, among
19th-century industrialization; others (Greenfield 1980, 1981, 1982).
3. Artistic attribution, i.e., the "signa- Her book, Books: Their Care and Repair,
ture" or monograms of the deSigner, was published in 1984 (Greenfield 1984).
artist, engraver, printer or binder who The first edition of Carolyn Morrow's
(!ontributed to the work's production; Conseroation Treatment Procedures: A
and, Manual of Step-by-Step Procedllres for
4. Aesthetic excellence, as determined the Maintenance and Repair of Library
using local criteria. Materials was published in 1982 (Morrow
1982). A second edition written hv Mor-
row and Carol Dyal was printed i~ 1986
TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
(Morrow and Dyal 1986). The Library
Book repair training has been offered in a Materials Preseroation Manllal, by Hedi
large variety of fcxmats to accommodate Kyle, \vith contributions bv Nelly Ballof-
persons of varying skill levels and the fet, Judith Reed, and Virgi~ia Wisniewski-
needs and resources of different libraries. Klett, was published in 1983 (Kyle 1983).
Throughout the 1980s funding was sought Robert Milevski's Book Repair Manual
and received for training programs, and was published in 198.5 (Milevski 1985),
several book repair manuals were pub- and the Library of Congress issued a se-
lished. For example, in 1980 Johns Hop- ries of six videotapes, Library Preseroa-
kins University received funding from the tion: Fundamental Techniqlles, in 1986
Andrew \V. Mellon Foundation to con- (Library Preservation 1986).
duct four workshops, three consultancies, Con'servators and preservation admin-
and two three-month internships a year istrators are working together to ensure
for three years. In 1981, the Illinois State that training opportunities continue to be
Library approved Library Services and made available. While much has been
Construction Act (LSCA) funding to sup- done on a "formal" level, it should also be
port the Illinois Cooperative Conserva- noted that many preservation programs
tion Program, which emphasized book re- have throughout the years served as a state
pair workshops. During this same period, and local resource, providing training and
the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Na- assistance to neighboring institutions.
tional Endowment for the Humanities An ambitious approach to book repair
supported a series of workshops taught at training occurred in 1992, when forty con-
the New York Botanical Garden Preserva- servators and preservation administrators
tion Center. Also in 1980, the Guild of from across the countrv were invited to
Book \Vorkers conducted its first annual the University of Calif(;rnia, Berkeley, to
Seminar on Excellence in Bookbinding. participate in a planning program funded
At these seminars, experts in conservation by the National Endowment for the Hu-
and the book arl~ demonstrate tech- manities. The goal of this program was to
niques, giving participants an opportunity develop teaching modules. As a result of
to see skillful workmanship and samples this meeting, funding has been awarded by
of beautifully executed work. the NEH for regional tmining programs in
The 1980s also saw an increase in the the Pacific Northwest, the Mountains!
literature relating speCifically to the re- Plains states, the South, and California and
pair of nonrare library materials. These Hawaii. Also, a series of workshops was
publications supported training efforts, offered in the Southwest region in the
and they assisted in-house programs by spring of 1994 on a cost-recovery basis.
providing a rationale for updating their These workshops were sponsored by
approach to repair or providing tech- AMIGOS in collaboration with the Preser-
niques for programs that were newly vation and Conservation Education Pro-
fornling. Jane Greenfield published a se- grams, University of Texas Preservation
2861 LRTS • 38(3) • Grandinette and Silverman

Department, and BookLab. It is hoped

that other proposals of this kind are still
forthcoming.

CONCLUSION

Treatment of rare and non-rare library

materials holds these basic principles in
common:
1. The materials used for the repairs
should be of high quality;
2. The repair should be non-damaging
and appropriate for the book; and
3. The conselVator or technician must
exercise care, dexterity, and judg-
ment.
Library conselVators who are respon-
sible for non-rare materials are actively
working to facilitate their preselVation.
Prerequisites for accomplishing this col-
lectionwide task include improved access
to human and material resources and op-
portunities to motivate people through
professional training and workshops. Both
Reicher are needed to gain a foothold on a prob-
Preservation lem that is being dwarfed in the face of the
Officer
Brandies
looming electronic library. But books con-
University tinue to be published and acquired. Main-
taining them in usable condition is as im-
portant as providing bihliographic a(.'Cess.
Their repair must be addressed now and
for the future so that they can be read and
shared.

WORKS CITED
Espinosa. Robert, and Pamela Barrios. 1991.
Joint tacketing: A method of board reat-
tachment. The Book & Paper Group an-
nuallO: 78-83.
Etherington. Don. 1992. Conservation treat-
ments. [Guild of Book Workers] Newslet-
ter 80: 7-8.
Frost. Gary. 1982. Historical paper case bind-
ing and conservation rebinding. The new
bookbinder 2: 64-67.
Grandinette, Maria, and Randy Silverman,
eds. 1992. Who, what. an d where in book
repair: Institutional profiles of the
LCCDG, 1992. Th e Book & Paper Group
annual 11: 34-84.
Greenfield, Jane. 1984. Book.v: Their care and
repair. New York: H.W. Wilson.
- - - . WHO. Wmflorolluds. Yale University
 LRTS • 38(3) • Notes on Operations 1287

Library preservation pamphlet, no. 1. New by-step procedures for the maintenance of
Haven: Yale University Library. repair of library material~, Littleton,
___. 1980. Tip-ins and pockets. Yale Uni- Colo.: Lihraries Unlimited.
versity Library preservation pamphlet, no. Morrow, Carolyn Clark. and Carole Dyal.
2. New Haven: Yale University Lihrary. 1986. Conservation treatment procedures.
- - - . 1981. Paper treatment. Yale Univer- 2d ed. Littleton, Colo.: Lihraries Unlim-
sity Lihrary preservation pamphlet. no. 3. ited.
New Haven: Yale University Lihrary. Ruzicka, Glen. 199.3. Book repair and conser-
---.1981. Pamphlet binding. Yale Univer- vation: Conservation Center for Art and
sity Lihrary preservation pamphlet, no. 4. Historic Artifacts. In The changing role of
New Haven: Yale University Lihrary. book repair ill A.RL libraries. SPEC Kit
---.1981. The small bindery. Yale Univer- 190. Washington. D.C: Association of Re-
sity Library preservation pamphlet, no ..5. search Lihraries, OlTiee of Management
New Haven: Yale University Lihrary. Services.
---.1982. Hingeandjoint repair. Yale Uni- Schrock, Nancy. 1993. Harvard University
versity Lihrary preservation pamphlet, no. \Videner Library conservation services: I n-
6. New Haven: Yale University Lihrary. stitutional profile. In The changing role of
Kyle, H('di. 1983. Library material, preserva- book repair in ARL libraries. SPEC Kit
tion manual. Bronxville, N.Y.: Nichola~ T. 190. Washington, D.C: Association of Re-
Smith. search Lihraries, OlTice of Management
Library preservation: Fundamental tech- Services.
niques. 191;6. Wa~hin~on, D.C.: Lihraryof Silverman, Randy, and Maria Grandinette,
Congress, Videotapes. etls. 1993. The challgill!!. role (~fbook repair
Milevski, Rohert J, 1985. Book repair manuaL in ARL libraries. SPEC Kit 190. Washing-
Illinois libraries 67: 648-84. ton, D.C: Association of Research Librar-
Morrow, Carolyn Clark. 1982. Conservation ies, Office of Management Services.
treatment procedures: A manual of step-

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