Do you put them in a stack in your back office---with good intentions that you will someday repair them----and then they stay there for years?
If you have an assistant, is he/she ever able to help with repairs?
Do you simply withdraw the book from circulation?
The "loved to death" books go in my to be fixed pile until it is gets so big it scary. Then I take a Friday afternoon and do a book repair marathon. I only get around to it a couple of times a year. Tape and glue are what holds my library together :)
ReplyDeleteI am a Glue and Tape gal myself. If they are unfixable but fun and bright, I weed them then have some library aids cut them into bookmarks.
ReplyDeleteLove the bookmark idea!
DeleteMe, too! Simpsons, here I go!
DeleteBookmarks sounds interesting. I do have stacks awaiting repair, and I try to do some every week. But they wear out faster than I can fix them. I am finding that it is easier to weed and toss some of my oldest stacks. I just ask myself if they have been really missed, or if other books have taken their place. If a book is too far gone, and yet so well loved, I may try to order a replacement copy.
ReplyDeleteAs the books are checked in, clear polyester corners from Kapco are added if book corners are starting to come apart. Also, if spine tops and bottoms are damaged, clear polyester wings from Kapco are added. It only takes a minute which prevents books in need of repair from piling up. Also, I use Kapco glue to repair spine damage. If the book is beyond reasonable repair, I delete it and put it in the recycle bin.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Kapco...thanks for mentioning it! It's always great to have new resources!
DeleteSo, Karen, you don't put the corners on first before the book goes out? Your way makes more sense than mine!
DeleteSome books never need the corners, so to keep expenses down, I wait for the first sign of needing corners as they are checked in.
DeleteMarianne, when I first became a librarian, Kapco presented at UELMA and demonstrated how to use their products. The corners are my favorite as they keep a book looking attractive for checkout since it doesn't take much for even Follett and Perma-Bd books to be turned in with a split corner. I use the Kapco spine protectors, but more often I just use Demco label protectors across the top or bottom spine.
DeleteToday, I used Kapco glue and brushed the glue on the spine as the front cover had come loose and the spine was completely exposed. Then I put on several strong rubber bands to hold the book tightly together. One plastic bottle of glue has lasted since 2000 as I don't repair spines very often. Usually, the books are beyond repair or not worth the time, though it seems more new books are apt to coming apart than in the past.
I don't have piles; I have boxes! I do the same as Joseph and Karen, though I use a hot glue gun more often than not. If the book is worthwhile title, then I add it to a Follett list called Replacements and make a note on the title that it is a Replacement. This is a never ending task for me and sometimes I have to remember how many books are printed everyday and how much my time is worth.
ReplyDeleteI do NOT recycle any books at school - a reaction to someone calling the District about computer parts in the school dumpster when I was at Beacon. I take the overly worn out books home and recycle there (once I have blacked out any school identification).
I use just tape. If that doesn't fix it, then I put it in a give-away box. I would love to hear about the glue you use and how you use it.
ReplyDeletePamela, I sent a reply to Marianne about the Kapco glue. It is helpful for spine repair, but sometimes spine repair is just too complicated and not worth the time or the stress in figuring out how to make it work.
DeleteI really enjoy repairing books, there is something zen about it. But, like so many others, it usually takes awhile for me to get the time to repair them. I have recycled books that are beyond repair. I put them into the dumpster, some boys after school were dumpster diving and found them. They were so proud and pleased to have found those books for me! The principal and I had a good laugh, she told them no more dumpster diving.
ReplyDeleteDawn Ann, I had a volunteer take a utility knife and cut the boards to remove the front and back covers of my discards before dumpstering them. Less change of their being mistaken and returned as "lost books".
DeleteMy time at the Brigham City Library was worth one thing. I found using caulking for the spines is great and it stays somewhat flexible. My assistant has OCD so she puts the broken ones in a box and fixes them. The box has a typed label also.
ReplyDeleteI take all of my old periodicals to kindergarten and they use them for different projects. I usually repair hard covers and most of my paperbacks end up in the recycling or I give them to Spec. Ed. teachers and they use them with their students to practice fine motoric skills.
ReplyDeleteWe have this wonderful volunteer at Dilworth who is 89 years old. He has been here for years but he is our repair guru. He does wonders with tape and glue. However this year Jeanene bought him a bottle of norbond and has bewildered him. He is definitely an elmers guy. Don't know what we would do without Earl. The books would probably sit in the back room until we either got tired of the dust on them and fixed them or threw them out.
ReplyDeleteI swear by Norbond. I put it in a normal looking glue bottle and Earl likes it now. Norbond is flexible glue and very adhesive. I also like the Scotch 845 tape. With the applicator, you can run a strip up the spine of the book if it is getting ragged. You can also just use that on paperbacks instead of covering the whole book. Sometimes when kids show me a torn book I like to repair the page then and there and ask them how they think it got torn in that spot.
ReplyDeleteIt was great to read your email as I have never heard of Norbond and would like to know where to purchase it, also the Scotch 845 tape.
DeleteI love that everyone repairs them...or intends to. I feel so happy when I finally weed a book that I've repaired so many times. We think kids might be picky, but they have adored books that have gone through major reconstructive surgery (sometimes using light cardboard to replace part of a cover). I'm absolutely tortured when a book that finally needs discarding is out of print. I'm lucky I have an assistant this year. Whew!
ReplyDeleteI make repairs on Mondays and Thursdays. The Guinness World Record Books need daily repair. They are my most checked out books. I gave 3rd-6th grades a 2013 and a 2014 to stay in their classrooms. And still my hold list is very long.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear how many of you also have constant book repairs. I get discouraged with how many fall apart. Especially the ones with foil covers, like FlyGUy and Guinness World Records --- they don't hold up at ALL. My whole library is held together with tape and glue. I even replace the mylar covers sometimes, just to make a book look better. I keep the book cleaner in the drawer by me so when something really crusty comes for check-out and I have a minute, I will clean....yikes...
ReplyDeleteI know it is late to be commenting on this, however it shows you what repairing books has been like for me. My life seems to be detoured to the road that is paved with good intentions. I have a box under my desk and put all my books that need repairing down there. Eventually I go through the box and decide what needs to be done with them. For those that can be repaired--I recently had a terrific parent volunteer to take them home to fix. She does the best repair job I have ever seen. She has taken my boxes of "needs repair" books and fixed them all. The rest are discarded/weeded as needed.
ReplyDelete