Various types of book repair supplies are available to help you repair your books. It is important to choose the materials carefully. They must be acid free and chemically stable to ensure that the repair is strong and durable. You should also check the material you choose for its quality before you begin the process.

 

In general, most books are casebound. This is a binding method that uses polyvinyl acetate, a white synthetic resin that dries to a thin, clear, flexible film. A variety of different adhesives are used to bind books. Some adhesives are not compatible with the polyvinyl acetate. For example, some publishers' adhesives will not bond well to the adhesive on the polyvinyl acetate.

 

Glue is also used in repairing book tape. When repairing books, it is a good idea to use glue only in the hinge area. If you glue it in other areas, you risk damaging the book or making the repair harder to accomplish.

 

Scratch n sniff bookmarks have been around for some time. Most kits contain all the basic tools you need to do your job. However, some kits are more specialized. Check the manual carefully to be sure that the tools and materials listed are appropriate for the repair you will perform.

 

Besides the tools you need to do the work, you will need storage for your materials. Make sure that you have chairs or stools for comfortable work. The book repair process will take less time when you are working on more than one book at a time.

 

You should also be prepared to handle some tough repairs. Some books may be missing pages, have a broken spine or have other issues. These items will have to be assessed by a conservator. Depending on the level of the repair, some books may be beyond repair and should not be repaired at all. Also, you should be aware that some books are rare or valuable. Therefore, you should not attempt to make repairs on them unless you are a trained conservator or an expert in the field of book restoration.

 

Before you purchase any of the supplies you will need to do your book repair, you should look over the manuals and the instructions included to determine which supplies you will need. The manual will describe the typical types of adhesive, case and textblock problems and solutions. Depending on the nature of the problem, you may need special tools such as a microspatula (MIC) to push adhesive into tight places.

 

You should also consider using a book press, which allows you to make more efficient use of your time. Besides being more convenient, a book press will increase the quality of your work. There are a number of presses on the market, including the Gaylord press (712). Other options include the Bostitch Personal Heavy-Duty Stapler, which staples 60 sheets of paper at once.

 

You should also consider using a flat file or other protective tool for the endpapers of your books. Flat files are very helpful in preserving Japanese papers. Get a general overview of the topic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookbinding.