Conservation versus Commercial Binding

Scope:

Contact: Lesley Looper

Unit: Resource Description

Date last reviewed:

Date of next review:

Guidelines for Determining Treatment
Needs for Physical Materials

Effective December 1, 2017, the following guidelines supersede all previous binding guidelines. They represent efforts to simplify the decision-making process by catalogers and other Technical Services staff. The Conservation Department has agreed to the use the Stiffness Test* for all paperback books. All books that pass the stiffness test and that do not meet any of the following criteria will go to their final destination unbound. Please note that it is impossible to document every possible scenario and that, on occasion, you will still need to consult with Shelf-Preparation or Conservation staff.

You may continue to use the Binding template to measure height and width; or choose to use a ruler that measures in centimeters.

Use Conservation Flag & Complete Contact information Section when any of the following conditions are true:

1. The item is ≤ 25 cm tall or ≤ 20 cm wide and:
   • Item is Brittle, Fragile or Damaged (Place Brittle materials in a plastic bag)
   • Item fails Stiffness Test
   • Item has Thin Cover Stock that is not significantly stiffer than a piece of printer paper
   • Item has Exposed Spine
   • Item has Accordion-Like Fold binding
2. Item contains Loose Material and the loose material is small enough to be tipped into or placed in a pocket of the main work. If the loose material cannot fit reasonably into the main work, consult with Conservation or Shelf-Preparation.
3. Disc in or in need of a pocket
4. Score & Parts combined are ≤ ¼ of inch thick

Use Bind Flag when any of the following conditions are true:

1. The item is > 25 cm tall or > 20 cm wide and:
   • Item is Brittle, Fragile or Damaged (Place Brittle materials in a plastic bag)
   • Item fails Stiffness Test
   • Item has Thin Cover Stock that is not significantly stiffer than a piece of printer paper
   • Item has Exposed Spine
   • Item has Accordion-Like Fold binding
2. Item has a Spiral or Comb binding
3. Loose Leaf material (Place in Plastic Bag)
4. Item has Uncut pages (un-opened folds)
5. Periodicals designated for Stacks
6. Score & Parts combined are > ¼ of an inch thick