Bookbinding repair key terms are commonly used among book dealers, as well as those offering repair services. But even serious book readers are often confused by these terms. For example, do you know the difference between a recasing and a rebacking? Fortunately, bookbinding repair terms are fairly easy to learn. Here are some of the most commonly used bookbinding and book-repair terms you'll come across.

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Recasing

Recasing is a way of rebinding a hardback book. It involves cutting off the old, damaged book cover, adding new endsheets, relining the spine and adhering a new hard cover. When recasing is complete, the book has an entirely new cover.

I recommend: Temper Productions offers complete information on how to recase a damaged book.

Crown

The crown of a book is the top edge of its spine (the top of the part of the book that faces out when it's shelved). It often wears down and breaks because people tend to take books off the shelf by inserting their finger partially into the crown. A badly torn crown can be repaired only by rebinding the book.

I recommend: Between the Covers Rare Books has a comprehensive, illustrated glossary of book terms, including a description and photograph of a book's crown.

Hinge

A book's hinge is where its cover meets its spine. Hinges often need repairing on well-used books, and broken or loose hinges are commonly seen on older volumes. Hinge repair usually involves resewing the book's pages together, but sometimes glue is used for minor repairs.

I recommend: Booksforever.com offers detailed, illustrated instructions on how to repair a book's hinge.

Signatures

When books are printed the pages are arranged and separated into signatures, or groups of pages folded in half. A signature looks a lot like a booklet without a cover. These signatures are then collected and sewn or glued together to create a book. When one or more signatures come loose, they must be resewn and then glued into place.

I recommend: St. Mary's University Blume Library offers a PDF that includes information on repairing signatures. Scroll down to Book Repair Links and click "Simple Techniques for the Maintenance and Repair of Books." You'll find information on signatures on page 10.

Spine

The spine of a book is the part you see when it is sitting upright on a shelf; it usually has the title of the book and the author's name printed on it. Spine replacement is a common book repair process since the spine is the book's weakest section. During repair, the old, damaged spine is cut off, reinforcement is applied and a new spine is glued into place.

I recommend: Preservation Services at Dartmouth College discusses spine replacement or repair and offers complete instructions.

Reback

Rebinding means the book is given a completely new cover, spine and endpapers, whereas rebacking means only the book's spine is repaired. For the rebacking process, old covers are reused if possible or new boards are made. A new spine is then fashioned and attached to the book's cover.

I recommend: Aboutbookbinding.com gives illustrated instructions on how to reback a book.

Even with the current proliferation of digital information, books remain a favored source of reference--but what does a business do when their books require bookbinding repair? Sometimes self-repair is a good option; you can either do this by hand or by machine. To repair bookbinding, you may also hire a professional.

The option you choose depends largely on the value of the book. An expensive set of books, or an antique book, requires repair by a professional in order to maintain the value. For inexpensive books, however, you or your employees can often easily handle bookbinding repair with little investment in time and money. Before you begin, consider the following:

1. Many book restorations may be easily and inexpensively completed by hand.

2. Bookbinding machines can quickly achieve total rebindings.

3. Hiring an expert is best for restoring books that are valuable.

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Repair bookbinding by hand easily with the right tools

With a little bookbinding glue and tape, you can repair many books quickly by hand--even if you've never repaired a book before. To repair a bookbinding, glue any loose pages with bookbinding glue. Then cut a piece of binding tape the length of the book, put glue on the back of the tape (if it's not self-adhesive), and center the tape evenly between the last page of the book and the cover. You can use the same glue and tape over the outside cover of the book's spine.

I recommend: Art Supplies Wholesale offers basic bookbinding repair materials at reasonable prices; you'll find bookbinding glue and tape, as well as cover board material and beeswax thread for restitching book signatures. Volcano Arts has a more diverse selection of book repair and bookbinding supplies, including adhesives, cloth, cutting tools and more. Oregon Art Supply also has a selection of glues, cloths and books on bookbinding.

Try a bookbinding machine for large repairs

If your book is in need of an entire rebinding, the most economical option is to use a bookbinding machine. If you find you're often rebinding books, or would like to bind reports or other materials, a binding machine is an excellent investment. Choose between a coil, comb, wire, or thermal or tape bookbinding machines.

I recommend: BindingStuff offers a fine selection of binding machines of all types and at a variety of prices. They also carry supplies for bookbinding machines. In addition, Factory Express Inc. has a nice selection of bookbinding machines and supplies.

Select a book restorations pro for valuable books

For leather bookbinding repair, to avoid diminishing the worth of valuable books, or if you just need help fixing a bookbinding, hire an expert in book reconditioning. Look for a pro who specializes in the type of book you need repaired, or an expert who frequently repairs antique books.

I recommend: Stanley Book Repair and Restoration does everything from repairing spines, total rebinding and repairing torn pages. Y & G Bookbinding Inc. also offers complete restoration and custom bookbinding repair services, including work on magazines. Additionally, Save-A-Book LLC does machine and hand bookbinding, rebinding, recasing and more.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you want to learn more about restoring books, many community colleges offer classes in bookbinding. There are also a number of books available on the topic, as well basic online guides.

While fixing bookbinding is the main task that comes to mind for restoring books, it is just one of many tasks included in most bookbinding repair education and training options. Restoring books is a complex art that involves knowledge of the materials, publishing techniques and ordinary wear and tear in the life of a book. This knowledge is available through a range of bookbinding repair education and training options.

One of the best ways to learn more about how to repair bookbinding and restore books is to attend a class, either as part of a library-related degree or for non-degree credit for professional development or personal interest. If you are unable to attend a course on book repair, a number of manuals also are available for sale or for free online that can serve as useful references and how-to guides.

When looking for bookbinding repair education and training options, consider the following:

1. Attend a course on bookbinding repair and restoration;
2. Earn a degree in library sciences or information studies for more in depth expertise;
3. Go to an annual conference for up-to-date seminars on bookbinding repair.
   

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Learn about custom bookbinding repair from a book repair course

Whether you need a basic overview of book repair and maintenance or want to learn about techniques in a special topic like leather bookbinding repair, a book repair and restoration course is a good option for getting detailed technical knowledge without the long-term time commitment of a higher education degree. A number of services offer individual courses on a regular basis to help librarians, archivists and hobbyists develop their book repair knowledge and skills.

I recommend: Amigos Library Services and Infopeople Project both offer individual courses in basic bookbinding repair. These classes are typically open to individuals or library institutions, and offer an overview of bookbinding repair materials and techniques at a range of levels.

Become an expert in bookbinding repair materials and techniques with a degree in library sciences

Library sciences or information studies degrees are higher education degree programs that typically include a range of bookbinding repair coursework in their programs of study. Topics you may expect to cover with a library sciences degree include practical and current issues in managing information and library services, but also techniques for hand bookbinding and book reconditioning for maintaining archival works.

I recommend: Degrees in library science, like the degree offered by the University of Denver, are typically master's degrees for people interested in pursuing careers in libraries and archival institutions. Syracuse University offers a degree from the School of Information Studies, which is similar, but may have a broader focus on new forms of media and information in addition to traditional courses on bookbinding repair.

Get the latest updates on how to repair bookbinding by attending an annual conference

If you're looking for the latest information on a specific topic, such as stain removal from cloth pages or leather bookbinding repair, annual conferences can provide you with special topic seminars and panels on the most cutting edge developments in library science and book repair. These conferences can be helpful for people new to the field, as well as established professionals looking to update their knowledge.

I recommend: Attend the Maine Library Association conference, or another regional conference in your area, for annually updated seminars on bookbinding repair. You can also find conference sessions on book repair at an annual meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science Education.