Book Repair and Book Maintenance - How to Make Books Last!

We all love getting new books. The smooth, unwrinkled edges, the pristine glossy covers... And don't even get us started on that new book smell! For the first few days after receiving a new book you'll look after it like it was a family member. Then, one day, you finish that book and put it away to get a new one, often leaving it to its fate for months on end and there is no telling in what condition it'll be once you pick it up again.

Yes, finding out that a cherished book has been ruined is one of the worst things a reader can experience. How can you make sure to avoid that? The answer - proper book maintenance. Let's look at our pick for the top book maintenance and book repair tips, in order to make sure your beloved books outlive you.

Book repair — Book Repair and Book Maintenance - The Essential Guide To Make Your Books Last Longer!

BOOK MAINTENACE

NUMBER ONE: PROPER BOOK SHELVING!

We want to start with a topic that is largely under-discussed in the literary community - proper shelving. And no, we don't just mean not keeping your books stacked in boxes. Did you know that different book formats have different preferred ways of shelving? The general rule of thumb is - paperback editions of the same size and length should be shelved together in an upright position, to avoid them from slumping.

Hardcover books, on the other hand, should be laid face down on a flat surface to prevent the spine from weakening or separating from the pages.

If you’re looking for a great and affordable bookshelf, we highly recommend the ones from Atlantic - they’re affordable, durable and look amazing!

NUMBER TWO: AVOID DIRECT SUNLIGHT!

Sounds pretty logical, right? You'd be surprised how many people refuse to acknowledge the dangers of UV rays on the quality of paper.

When we bought our house, we spent weeks debating where to put the library. Do we put it away from the windows, or do we put it in the most sun-kissed part of the living room? While we were going back and forth on the issue, we put a white internet router in the aforementioned part of the room. A few weeks down the line, we saw that the entire top part of the router had turned a brownish-yellow colour.

Needless to say which decision we went with after that. If that happened to a piece of plastic, can you imagine the effect of UV rays on your much more fragile (and flammable) collection of papers? If you'd like to avoid your books discolouring and pages turning yellow and fading, avoid direct sunlight or at least invest into curtains or blinds.

NUMBER THREE: AVOID HUMIDITY!

For over a decade now we’ve been living in the Netherlands, where humidity levels are off the charts. Seriously, in some rooms we need to avoid putting furniture too close to the wall, unless we want to find some lovely green vegetation on the back of it soon after.

Therefore, we cannot stress enough how important it is to avoid high humidity levels in the space where you store your books. Apart from your furniture itself being affected, your books themselves may develop mold and mildews over time, making their pages brittle, cracking spines, destroying rare editions and spreading a generally musky odor in their vicinity, surprisingly reminiscent of a particular French cheese.

How can you prevent that from happening? Make sure to store your books on open shelves with good airflow. If you live in a country with high humidity levels, like us, it might be advisable to invest in a good humidifier to maintain humidity levels around the 40%-50% mark.

NUMBER FOUR: PRACTICE REGULAR CLEANING!

Accumulation of dust and dirt on your books is not only dangerous for your books, but for you as well, as it can facilitate the development of pesky conditions like asthma, chronic coughs or, in some cases, skin rashes. As a rule of thumb, make sure to dust at least once every two weeks with a soft cloth or, if you have a soft brush attachment for your vacuum cleaner, go over them gently every time you vacuum.

NUMBER FIVE: KEEP BOOKS AWAY FROM PESTS!

Pests are annoying little buggers, aren't they? Whether they come in the form of bugs, Sunday morning door-to-door salesmen or certain family members, they all have two characteristics in common - they invade your house without warning and you want to get them out of there as soon as possible.

While you generally don't have to worry about your standard cockroaches and spiders, there is a particular type of insect with a strong affinity for eating through, paper called silverfish.

Don't let the cute name fool you though, as silverfish can rapidly multiply and easily eat through your book's glue and discolour its pages. Before you start freaking out and Googling your nearest exterminator, there are a few things you can try, to stop them from attacking your book shelves.

A quality humidifier can come in handy once again, or you can try putting stalks of thyme and/or mint on your bookshelves, as apparently silverfish and other pests are highly repelled by them. The herbs also get bonus points for their pleasant, fresh smell, so using them is a win-win either way.

NUMBER SIX: CLEAN YOUR HANDS!

If you've not been doing that in the last couple of years, you, my friend, are part of the problem. One of the silver linings from this whole global situation were in is that people all over the world were re-introduced to a basic principle they should have been thought as children - wash your hands thoroughly and regularly.

Just as easily as you can transfer a disease through a handshake, you can transfer a chocolate soufflé smudge to your book page. And once it's there it is a nightmare to get out. So make sure you wash your hands before you pick up a book (especially after you've eaten).

NUMBER SEVEN: USE A BOOKMARK!

We can't tell you how many books we've ruined in our youth by folding the corners of pages into "dog ears". Sure, it's convenient when you have no other option, but it also wrinkles and damages the paper.

Nowadays, nearly every bookstore (or online order) gives you a free bookmark with your purchase so there should be no excuse to always have one close at hand when you need it.

NUMBER EIGHT: TAKE MEASURES WHEN TRAVELING!

We've all been there. Whether it's commuting to work, school or holiday, everyone eventually figures out that those couple of hours they'll have to spend on the train are a prime time for reading. So what do we do? We toss our favourite book in a backpack or suitcase, throw a bunch of random stuff on top of it, shake the whole thing nicely for good measure, and leave on our trip with the hope that the book will still be in one piece when we get it out.

If you find yourself traveling a lot, it might be a good idea to invest in a protective plastic cover, or a hard-edged plastic bag, to keep your book safe from wear and tear. While it will make you spend an extra 5 to 10 seconds getting it out of the cover, on the plus side you'll get to make everyone on the train wonder what highly classified documents you're carrying with you, to require such protective measures.

Book maintenance and repair tips — Book Repair Essential Tips To Make Books Last Longer!

BOOK REPAIR

Let's face it - there is a big chance you've stumbled across this article because a book you own is already in a sorry state. Therefore, looking at the suggestions above is a tad reminiscent to putting your hood up after it has stopped raining. Not to worry, in this next section we'll walk you through the proper ways to fix a book whose binding is starting to come apart.

While poor maintenance can certainly spell doom for your books, poor repair efforts will absolutely guarantee it. Unfortunately for books though, our society loves DIY solutions. And what do we love even more? DIY solutions that don't require a lot of effort. And work. On. Everything! Kind of like duct tape. And by that, I mean exactly like duct tape. If it can hold my side left side car mirror for the last year or so, it sure as hell can hold a book together! Technically, you'd be correct, if that's your line of thinking. It will hold your book together... For a time. After that the damage would be so severe that you would need a book-bender, not a book-binder to fix it.

If you didn't catch that Avatar, The Last Airbender reference, don't worry. But hopefully, you caught our hint that like most repairs, book re-binding needs to be done the right way, or not at all.

So what is the right way? It all starts with...

IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM

The first thing you need to ask yourself is “What part of the book do I need to repair?” Generally, there are two situations you will run in most often:

Pages are starting to come loose
The hinge of the book is broken

Let's look at each of these in more detail.

PAGES ARE STARTING TO COME LOOSE

Oh, no! We absolutely hate when this happens. It all starts with one page coming loose. And then another, and another. At some point, you're become afraid that if you open the covers you'd need to spend at least 10 minutes cleaning paper from the floor and a good 30 minutes more trying to put everything back in the right order.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, don't worry - there are several steps you can take to repair your books.

STEP ONE: MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB!

Before you even consider doing anything to the book itself, you need to make sure to get the right supplies for the job.

Bookbinding is a delicate and precise process, and over the years professional book binders have developed a variety of tools to make their lives easier. That being said, amateurs looking to re-bind the occasional loose page can easily get overwhelmed by the quantity of various blades, mallets and awls that come up when you Google "bookbinding tools".

So let's simplify things. For this guide we'll need only three simply "tools", which everyone should be able to easily get their hands on.

Book (binding) Glue
A long stick or pole (material irrelevant)
3-5 really heavy books

GLUE

This is probably the only material in this list that requires a bit of special attention. Unfortunately you can't simply use regular glue. Well, to be honest, you can... But you'll find yourself re-binding the book a short time down the line. Or worse, the acid in regular glue will completely destroy the book's spine.

Hence, using specialized, acid-free glue, which is specifically made for book-binding is a must. Thankfully, getting your hands on some is a lot less complicated than it sounds. You'll be able to find it at your local arts and crafts store, book binding store, or order it online.

A LONG THIN STICK

Archimedes once said that if he had a lever long enough, and a fulcrum on which to place it, he'd be able to move the world. If we had a lever long enough, we'd be able to... Spread the glue. A lot less impressive, we know, but nonetheless essential to the work at hand.

To be honest, any type of long thin stick will do the job: bone folders, popsicle sticks or even the random piece of wood that's been lying in the garage for the last decade - dealer's choice.

A FEW HEAVY BOOKS

"And a few good man to lift them".

You'll need something to push down the book once the re-binding has been completed, in order to set the glue properly. If by some bizarre chance the book you're about to repair is the only book in your collection, you can use pretty much any heavy object lying around, so long as it can be balanced atop your DIY project.

STEP TWO: REMOVING THE LOOSE PAGES

As much as we'd love to just splash some glue around and be done with it, as we've mentioned earlier, bookbinding is a precise art.

Very carefully, start separating all the loose pages from the spine, making sure you don't rip any of them in the process. Once all the faulty pages are removed put them in a separate pile (still in numerical order to save yourself some time later). Finally, make sure that the pile is placed far away from your workstation and the glue - if you thought removing them from the spine was hard work, wait until you accidentally glue two pages together...

STEP THREE: TIME FOR SOME GLUE

First thing's first - wear a mask. Yes, that's another thing you need for this process but let's face it - if you don't have a spare mask lying around your house at this point, kudos on getting internet access below that massive rock you've been living under.

Now that you have your mask on, maybe crack a window open too. While you'll be using small amounts of glue, it's best to make sure that you don't accidentally drug yourself.

With all precautions out of the way, it's time to apply the glue. When you open the book, it should be relatively easy to spot where the loose pages came out of. Grab the stick you're using, gently apply glue to it and spread the glue on the spine of the book. Make sure to spread it evenly and don't overdo it - a thin layer that covers the whole area will be more than enough.

STEP FOUR: RE-ASSEMBLING THE BOOK

Or as we like to call it, "the race against time". This is probably the most crucial part of the process where the most mistakes tend to happen. You only have a limited time before the glue dries out, so you'll need to operate in a precise and efficient manner.

Remember when we told you to stack your loose pages in the right numerical order? Here is where that extra effort beforehand will save you some time in the gluing process. Grab each page and make sure to firmly press it's edges along the book's spine until they've set properly and align with the rest.

We won't lie, if you're doing this for the first time, there is a big chance that you'll likely have a few pages that didn't set correctly. Don't worry, take these out before the glue has dried, finish the process with the rest of them, and after some time has passed you can try to re-attach them again.

STEP FIVE: PUT SOMETHING HEAVY ON TOP OF IT

You've done it! You've somehow managed to finish with the gluing part of this tutorial without accidentally gluing pages (or your fingers) together! Only one step left - and it's the easiest one of all.

Grab a bunch of heavy books (or anything heavy you have lying around) and put them on top of your recently completed creation. Make sure the object on top is heavy enough to press firmly on the book, but not heavy enough to break the spine. Three to five book is okay. An anvil, not so much.

STEP SIX: THE LONG WAIT

Once you've placed the heavy object on the re-bound book, leave it alone for about 24 hours. When you open it the next day, the pages should be firmly reattached.

If that's not the case, retrace your steps and repeat the process until you get it right.

THE HINGE OF THE BOOK IS BROKEN

A broken hinge is a bit more serious than a few loose pages. And thus, it requires a few extra steps to fix properly. Not to worry, we'll try to simplify it as much as possible, starting with an old familiar.

STEP ONE: RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB (AGAIN)

That's right, we're starting the same way we did before - by making sure we've got the right tools to repair the hinge. You will need:

A pair of scissors
A ruler
Single stitch binder tape
Book binding (acid-free) glue
Brushes
Some waxed paper
Several large rubber bands

All of these supplies can be found in your local arts and crafts store, and are contained in most basic book-binding kits, like this one, available online.

STEP TWO: NIP AND TUCK

Once you've got the supplies, it's time you get to work. Lay your book on a flat surface, grab the scissors and gently remove the hinge from it. As a rule of thumb, it's generally advised to always remove the hinge and work on it separately, until you get proper book-binding experience. Otherwise, you risk damaging other elements of the book, which are still attached to it.

Now that the hinge is removed, put it to the side and use the scissors to remove any loose threads and paper.

STEP THREE: PREPARING THE BINDER TAPE

Put the removed hinge away for now and grab the single stitch binder tape and your ruler. Measure the height (length) of the text block (collection of all pages on the inside) and cut a piece of binder tape to correspond to it. It's important to keep in mind that in most books, the text block is usually always shorter than the height of the book covers (even if it's by a few millimeters). By measuring according to the text block, you'll avoid having too much leftover tape that you'll later need to trim.

STEP FOUR: IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER!

Having cut the right size of tape, go and grab the brushes and glue. Gently put glue on a brush and carefully apply to one side of the tape. Again, make sure to cover evenly and don't overdo it - a thin layer is more than enough. If you're happy with your glue work, apply the adhesive-coated side to the text block and spine, while making sure to line the stitching with the end of the book. If your measurements were correct in the previous part, it should fit like a glove.

This next part is a bit tricky. One tab with glued tape must stick to the first page of the book, while another should be applied to the spine of the entire text block. This step is very important for later!

STEP FIVE: THE LONG WAIT, PART II: RETURN OF THE BOOKMAKERS

You guessed it: having completed your work, leave the glue to dry. Depending on which brand you use, it might take a few hours, or it might take most of the day (check the instructions on your glue).

An easy way to find out if it's dried is to simply run your finger over it. Is it wet? Leave it be.

STEP SIX: PLACING THE WAX PAPER

The wax paper should be placed on top of the tape that you previously glued to the book, as well as under the tape that has no yet been glued. Having done that, apply glue to the two remaining tabs and align the cover along the seam of the tape. Then press the spine against one tab. Repeat the same process for the other tab.

STEP SEVEN: THE EVEN LONGER WAIT

Unfortunately, there is a lot of waiting involved in the entire process. But all good things take time, don't they?

If you're happy with how the tabs have been attached to the spine, take the rubber bands and put them around the book, making sure that they secure it tightly. Technically, we can again use a stack of books or another heavy object, but due to the hinge's position we risk accidentally undoing all our work by applying too much weight. The bands, on the other hand, can apply just enough pressure to let the glue dry evenly, while holding the entire project in place.

Leave the book bound like that for about 24 hours, in order to give the glue enough time to dry.

STEP EIGHT: ENJOY YOUR BOOK!

It is finally time! Remove the bands, remove the waxed paper and voila - the book should be as good as new!

IF EVERYTHING ELSE FAILS?

Sometimes, you won't have time or the required supplies to do the job properly. Sometimes, it might just seem too daunting. If that's the case, don't be afraid to reach out for help. You can always post your questions in the comments below where either we, or the community can help you out.

Or, if everything else fails, it's time to open the purse strings and take the book to a professional book-binder. While it can cost a pretty penny to get the job done, you also know exactly what you'll be paying for. Plus, professional bookbinders offer some pretty amazing services, such as the rebinding of the book with illustrations, leather covers, etc.

How do you keep your precious books safe? Do you have any book repair tips or tricks that we didn't mention? Make sure to tell us in the comments below.

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Book repair and book maintenance - how to make books last!