Missy Henderson
Let’s face it — accidents happen. Even when you try to be incredibly careful with a book checked out from the library, circumstances can damage a book.
Books get accidentally dropped. Trust me, library workers drop books too. And damage happens. Perhaps you’re teaching your preschooler to read and their younger sibling, trying to imitate their older sibling, turns a page and accidentally tears it. Or while getting out of your car in a heavy downpour, trying to juggle keys, Thermos, briefcase, and books, the top book on the stack falls off and lands in a puddle.
Yep, I’ve done that too. As much as you may want to try to fix the book yourself, we humbly ask you to bring the item in, tell us what happened and let us try to fix the damage. We probably won’t even charge you for the damage. That is, unless you’ve used said book for skeet shooting or to block wheels while changing a car tire.
At the library, we have many book-friendly repair items at our disposal to help us repair books.
The tapes that we use aren’t the tape in the green box that you probably have at home. Our tapes are acid free and have low pH to aid in adhesion to the book and to be permanent. The glue that we use is flexible to withstand repeated opening and closing of the book and has a low pH that is better suited for book repair than the school glue that you’re probably familiar with. We use a special wide tape on book spines for extra support, and laminate covers for paperbacks. The tools we use are special too, including heavy-duty tape dispensers, squeegees, and trimmers.
So how can you help keep books looking newer longer? Keep your books dry. Place them in your backpack or book tote when it’s raining, or even in a plastic bag. Avoid putting them in direct sunlight, which can fade a book cover over time. Don’t dog-ear the corners of book pages to keep your place. This causes the folded crease to become brittle over time and could cause the corner to break off. Please don’t use gum or candy wrappers as bookmarks. Residual sugars or dyes from the wrappers can be transferred to the paper. Reading by a pool or beach is fun, but don’t let your book get splashed. The salt water or chlorine in a pool is quite damaging to books. Try to keep books away from pets. I’ve had several dog training books come back that have been chewed on by a puppy.
Above all — read and enjoy the books you borrow from the Bartholomew County Public Library. And don’t be afraid to let us know if a book gets damaged while in your care. After all, accidents will happen.
Missy Henderson is technical services department assistant at the Bartholomew County Public Library and can be reached at [email protected].
