How To Fix A Creased Paperback Book Cover

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The worst has happened! Okay, maybe not the worst, but a pretty bad thing has happened: your beloved book is damaged. Yous didn't hateful to! It was an accident! A moment of abandon! A beloved pet's pointy misstep or chewy miscalculation. Or, worst of all: one of the above, but information technology happened when a friend was borrowing your book. Now, yous're left to pick upwardly the pieces—literally—and try your hand at some book repair.

Offset, you lot're going to need the right supplies. If you're a crafty person, you might already have some of these things at home, but if non, you purchase whatever number of volume repair or bookbinding kits, like this one or this one.

Book Repair 101: How to Repair a Cleaved Book

What Y'all'll Demand for Volume Repair

fine paint brush
acid-free mucilage
os folder
wax paper
tape
weights

You desire a mucilage that dries clear and is flexible when stale. Elmer'southward Glue works just fine, but PVA craft glue is a better bet if you want your book repair to concluding.

You'll actually probably want a few different tapes for dissimilar jobs. For torn pages, you'll want something like this certificate repair record. For loose bindings, y'all'll desire binding repair tape. If y'all desire a upkeep option, obviously masking tape is okay, as well, merely brand sure information technology's acid-free.

To Repair a Ripped Page or Jacket

Oh no. You lot've ripped a page in your book. Never fear! You already stocked your book repair kit!

You'll need your fine paint brush, glue, wax paper, and os folder. This also works for a torn book jacket.

1: Place a piece of wax paper underneath the ripped page.

2: Using your fine brush and but a tiny amount of glue, paint the glue over the tear.

three: Place another piece of wax newspaper over the tear, and printing the bone binder over the tear to brand sure the glue gets skilful contact and to get rid of whatsoever bubbles.

4: This is optional, and will brand the tear more than noticeable, but you tin can put a tiny fleck of record over the edge of the page to reinforce it and make certain the tear isn't re-opened. Y'all'll desire to rip the tape gently, rather than cut it, so that the feathered border of the record blends into the page.

To Repair a Sagging Volume Block/Loose Spine or Missing Pages

Does the inside of your book seem to want to throw off its wearable and run free? This is an easy ready. You'll need binding repair record. If the pages of your volume are coming out in 1 whole chunk (that whole clamper is called a volume block) or in individual pages, this is what you want to do. Yous'll want binding tape and a bone folder.

Measure the height of your book, and trim two pieces of bounden tape to the appropriate length.
Fold the piece of tape in half longwise (hotdog, not hamburger).

Put the crease of the record that you just created into the crease of the book.
Use a os folder to smooth the record.

To Repair a Broken Cover

Has your comprehend completely fallen apart, or exercise you lot fright information technology may presently? You'll want to go out your volume binding repair record. This isn't pretty, merely it will go on your book in your collection for a while. Transparent binding tape means you'll still be able to run into the title or spine decoration.

Caryatid the book with weights so that the spine is horizontal to the table. (You want to be able to work on the length of the spine.)
Cut a piece of tape the length of the volume.
Center your tape on the spine if your book and gently wrap information technology over the spine.
For additional support, follow the above instructions for repairing a sagging book block above.

To Reattach a Book Spine

This typically only happens with older books, but it happens to the older books on my shelves quite often. I accept a amorphous full of spines merely waiting to be reattached to their books. Y'all'll need bounden tape, a bone folder, glue and paint, and something soft to wrap the book in, like a T-shirt or a non-adhesive bandage or wrap.

Brace the volume with weights on either side so that the spine is horizontal to the table.
Measure out a slice of tape and cut information technology to be simply slightly shorter than the length of your book.
Fold the slice of tape in one-half lengthwise (hotdog, not hamburger).
Before peeling off the backing, apply a bit of your PVA mucilage to gum the record together so that y'all've made archival-quality double-sided tape.
One time the glue has dried, remove the backing from your tape and lay it down the length of your spine.
Lay the cleaved slice of spine downwardly over the tape and use a bone folder to smooth.
Wrap the book with a T-shirt or bandage to make sure the tape holds. The book should be gear up to be used in a few hours.

How to Protect Your Books

Now, the very best thing yous can do to repair your books is to prevent them from getting damaged in the first place, simply if I had led with that, you'd accept airtight the tab and hated me forever, and I'd accept deserved it. But I tin't permit you leave without some tips for how to protect your books.

A Book Buddy

These cushioned slipcovers forestall your books from being dinged up when yous throw them in your bag or tote pocketbook.

Jacket Covers

Cover the jackets of your hardcovers (peculiarly antiques) in acid-free, UV-blocking covers.

Acrylic Cookbook Stand

While using cookbooks, gardening books, or other reference books on potentially messy topics, put them in an acrylic cookbook stand similar this one with a splash guard.

Pale Your Claim

If y'all want to try to ensure yous come across your books again, you should mark your books as yours in some way. You lot can use an Ex Libris sticker or an embossing tool, or, if you merely hate to mark up your books, you might consider lightly writing your proper noun in pencil. This can be erased when the book returns safely home to you lot.

For more tips on protectingyour books, check out these Book Anarchism articles:

8 Means to Waterproof Your Summer Reads

How to Clean Books

How to Save a Moisture Book

How to Remove Stickers from Books

How to Care for Old for Valuable Books

How to Fix Book Binding

Thanks to the YouTube channel from the Bodleian Social Sciences Library at Oxford Academy. Their book repair videos were invaluable in researching this post.