Library Binding - Library Binders

Library Binders

Library binding is done at a commercial library binding company. Sending books to the library binder is a mass production process. The library will gather and set aside their volumes which they want library bound, and then box and ship off these books to a library binding company. The binding company handles each volume one at a time, and then places all the items from the shipment back into boxes and sends them back to the library.

• Commercial library binding factories were first established in America and England in the early twentieth century. Since then, there have emerged several prominent library binding companies (including Dague Bookbindery, Ocker & Trapp, or Wert Bookbinders). Although they are commercial enterprises, library binders act as partners to the library world. The operations they perform on books and serials help extend the life of these materials, making them more accessible to library users. The goal should always be to do as little damage to the volume as possible. A volume should not be sent to a commercial library binder if the papers in the volume are brittle, if the volume appears to have value as an artifact, if the item can be repaired or treated in-house, or if the item needs preparatory conservation treatment.
• Library binders and libraries must agree on the conditions of the services provided and the prices rendered, and then must sign a contract confirming these. The library binder should ensure against the loss of volumes and should correct any mistakes (such as the wrong color buckram cloth, or the incorrect title stamped on the spine) (State of Connecticut Binding Contract 1993).
• The Library Binding Institute is the main source of information and standards on library binding. In conjunction with the National Information Standards Organization, the Library Binding Institute has published standards of library binding that should be used by all binding companies. These include technical specifications (for the different methods of library binding) and material specifications (for the materials used in library binding).