no.1300-BINDING EVERYTHING? Summary of Responses

[Original posting on this topic appeared in COLLDV-L no. 1258 and is
reproduced below; the summary of responses follows it.]

From: pmetz_at_mail.vt.edu (Paul Metz)

Having previously either bought hardcover or purchased in softcover and
then bound nearly everything, we at Virginia Tech are reconsidering the
necessity to have all of our monographs bound. I would appreciate insights
from peer institutions re your experiences and perspectives, the tradeoffs
involved (specifically how much of your short-term saving is left as net
saving after repairs), and any guidelines you have established especially
re disciplines, kinds of physical books, or other categories which might be
particularly good categories of monographs to remain in soft cover.

Please reply directly to me (pmetz_at_vt.edu). Thanks in advance, and if there
is sufficient interest I will summarize responses for the list.

Paul Metz, Principal Bibliographer, Virginia Tech University Libraries
           President of Virginia Tech Faculty Senate, 1996-97
           P.O. Box 90001 / Blacksburg VA / 24062-9001
Phone: (540) 231-5663   FAX: (540) 231-3694
pmetz_at_vt.edu

============================================================
From: pmetz_at_mail.vt.edu (Paul Metz)

I'd like to thank the 15 or so people who responded to my inquiry about
whether to bind everything. Here's an informal summary to the list.

Half or more of the responses I received came from institutions which have
discontinued or greatly decreased their binding of books received in soft
cover. Research libraries indicated that enough of their books circulate
either never or little, so not binding is harmless. Several libraries
pointed to recent improvements in the quality of commercial binding, and
several librarians indicated that their initial skepticism had been
overcome once they saw how little rebinding their paperbacks ended up
requiring.

Two things to bear in mind: 1. Most of these libraries changed policy
fairly recently, so it's possible that they will see problems only after
several years of circulation; 2. A major imponderable for me is possible
self-selection among my respondents. It's entirely possible that those who
still bind everything found the question uninteresting.

Two libraries reported that their selectors look at books and then decide
about binding. Both indicated reservations about the staff time this
requires.

There are also libraries that bind after first use (reasoning that this at
least saves them money where there is never a first use) and others which
examine after first use. A number of the libraries that don't bind all
their paperbacks have trained their circulation and stacks staff on what to
look for and encouraged them to send even slightly damaged soft covers out
for binding.

One library bases binds paperbacks "on receipt only if their physical
condition requires it:
        Books received in damaged condition;
        Very large boks (12" or more in height, 2" or more in thickness, and/or
           wide enough to extend beyond the width of the shelf);
        Very small books (less than 1/4" inch think) and all pamphlets;
        Spiral-bound books;
        Books which cannot support heavy or bulky pocket material;
        Books in which the original bindings are warped, soiled, or in
           which the pages are untrimmed;
        Books with cover designs likely to encourage vandalism."

Several libraries reported that they continue to bind paperbacks, but have
switched to pre-binding. By "text binding" (what our vendors call it
anyway) for about $4.50/title, vendors preserve the original front and back
covers, and send you a durable, shelf-ready product that patrons like.

We at Virginia Tech will increase our already satisfactory use of
pre-binding for the great majority of books that come through our major
firm order vendors, but we will with few exceptions let gift books and firm
orders from our lesser-used vendors (who can't prebind) go to the shelves
as is. If our budget deteriorates badly next year we will take the plunge
and emulate the libraries that bind few paperbacks.

Thanks again to respondents and as always to Lynn for making this kind of
exchange possible.


Paul Metz, Principal Bibliographer, Virginia Tech University Libraries
           President of Virginia Tech Faculty Senate, 1996-97
           P.O. Box 90001 / Blacksburg VA / 24062-9001
Phone: (540) 231-5663   FAX: (540) 231-3694
pmetz_at_vt.edu