1GraceCollection
I couldn't find a group which was more appropriate, but if there is a book repair group or similar that I missed, please point me in that direction!
Several books have been removed from circulation due to damage of the spine, or were in a poorly condition when received. These books are not very valuable, but I do have time on my hands, and repair is always cheaper than replacement.
These are all hardcover books, from about the mid 20th century or later, and the outer layer of the spine, where the title and author are printed, is tearing from the book, or in one case, has come off completely. For the most part these are fabric bits which have split from the rest of the cover of the book where it hinges, but in one case (the spine which has fallen off completely) I can't tell what material the book was covered in. It's hard, and seems to have simply cracked on both hinges where the spine meets the front and back covers.
Can anything be done? Money is limited but I have a lot of time and (almost) infinite patience. I know I could theoretically use tape or something, but I'm hoping for a more professional fix.
Several books have been removed from circulation due to damage of the spine, or were in a poorly condition when received. These books are not very valuable, but I do have time on my hands, and repair is always cheaper than replacement.
These are all hardcover books, from about the mid 20th century or later, and the outer layer of the spine, where the title and author are printed, is tearing from the book, or in one case, has come off completely. For the most part these are fabric bits which have split from the rest of the cover of the book where it hinges, but in one case (the spine which has fallen off completely) I can't tell what material the book was covered in. It's hard, and seems to have simply cracked on both hinges where the spine meets the front and back covers.
Can anything be done? Money is limited but I have a lot of time and (almost) infinite patience. I know I could theoretically use tape or something, but I'm hoping for a more professional fix.
2lilithcat
There is a Book Care and Repair group: https://www.librarything.com/ngroups/602/Book-Care-and-Repair
There's a pinned post with listings of resources. You can also find some decent videos on YouTube showing simple spine repairs: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=book+spine+repair
It sounds, from your description, that the repairs needed aren't particularly complex, but I think if you check out some videos you'll get a sense of whether it's something you feel you can manage.
There's a pinned post with listings of resources. You can also find some decent videos on YouTube showing simple spine repairs: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=book+spine+repair
It sounds, from your description, that the repairs needed aren't particularly complex, but I think if you check out some videos you'll get a sense of whether it's something you feel you can manage.
3GraceCollection
Alas, I missed it! Thank you for sharing.
4thorold
As >2 lilithcat: said, replacing a spine isn’t particularly difficult, once you understand how a book is put together and have the necessary material. It helps if you have still got the original spine, so don’t throw that away. And definitely don’t get involved with tape, that will make life harder when you get to doing a proper repair. If you want a temporary fix, put a loose brown paper cover over the book.
