Dust Jacket Covers

I want to use dust jacket covers to extend the life of books in my classroom library, but I'm a little overwhelmed by all of the options. I'm hoping someone here can give me a little guidance on what to look for.

Context:

preschool classroom (4 and 5-year-olds)
Books get HEAVY use.
Ideally, I'd like something that I can also use to make DIY jackets for hardcover books that have lost theirs. (Is this possible?)

I know I want to get them in a roll, since I have a lot of oddly-sized books, but I'm not sure what material or thickness would be best. I don't want to overspend, but I also don't want to end up with something so thin that it won't stand up to the 100th reading of Caps for Sale.

I take it these are books on a general shelf that any kid can access at any time? I recall days in school where every kid was required to cover their text for class but those were texts that only saw one student using them at any given time.

Plain brown paper or cut-open paper bags where what we used, and usually wound up scribbled all over by the end of the year, but they were harmless to the book and could be easily replaced.

I would have some concerns about plastic as I've seen some plastic covers actually grab onto a book's cover art and peel it off, though they usually need to be in there for a while. I'm not sure if that's because of the plastic, or the book material.

I've also seen stretchable text covers for sale that appeared to be made out of nylon or similar material, but the tension could be a problem for soft-covers.

Are you looking for permanent covers or removable ones?

Hi, this is the jacket covering I use (in the 1.5 mil weight)

http://www.shopbrodart.com/Library-Supplies/Book-Jacket-Covers/Adjustable-Covers...

It is paper backed however so it would not be appropriate for use with hardcovers missing the dust jacket.

I have not used this one myself, hower it would work for dust jackests as well as for books missing the jacket:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/Library-Supplies/Book-Jacket-Covers/Film-Rolls/Paperl...

I have used this as well for hardcovers without jackets, however I'm not sure I'd recommend it for larger books because it is a little heavier, and may not sit as well:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/Library-Supplies/Book-Jacket-Covers/Film-Rolls/Polyes...

I hope this helps!

>4 ReadTree:
Much more professional things than I was aware of! It says polyester on the rolls, so are these more of a fabric than straight plastic? And hopefully don't have that lifting problem with other covers and a book's cover art?

>5 WeeTurtle: No, they are not fabric at all. They are clear plastic films. They shouldn't lift the colour/stick, as the are made for books, and not made of a sticky plastic. Also, being a children's library, I don't imagine anything will sit unused on the shelf long enough for that to happen. If you take a trip down to your local public library, you'll see that most hardcover jackets are covered with a clear plastic film and taped to the covers. That will give you an idea of what they'll be like when on.

>6 ReadTree:

It's been a bit since I've seen that sort of covering but then, I've been frequenting academic libraries of late.

On the topic of covers, is there anything recommended for paperbacks, long term, besides tape? I have a couple of fat paperbacks. The middle-end portions are okay, but the front cover and early pages are close to wearing through.

I've had success with clear Contact paper. You can size it larger than the cover and fold over into the inside of the cover, which protects the edges as well.

But Contact paper will stick to the cover, and destroy the cover art.

My late father-in-law, despite his love of books, did terrible things to them. At the time of his death, he had slightly more than 900 of them. Most were in fine condition, but several of them had dust jackets that had been either laminated, and others (without dust jackets) were covered with either clear contact paper or (I can't imagine why) sticky-backed felt. The used-book chain stores near us refused to pay us anything for any of these books. It was mainly because of those coverings.

I've got various sized rolls of Mylar from Demco; even sprung for the rack that holds four rolls. And, whereas yes, covering a jacketless books requires a lot more work and patience, it can be done. It takes less than two minutes to fit the Mylar to a dust jacket and tape it to the book.

>7 WeeTurtle: I've used something like this:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/Library-Supplies/Book-Care-and-Repair-Supplies/Book-C...

I'd have to check at work to see exactly what type. It works well.

>8 2wonderY: Mentioned contact paper. I've never used contact paper for the purpose, but it would probably be quite similar (and less expensive) to the brodart product. I don't know how it would wear long term, and I wonder whether there would be any yellowing, but you could certainly experiment :)

>9 WholeHouseLibrary: As long as it's clear it should be fine. It would be permanent of course, but do the job of protecting the cover, as long as you plan on not removing it.

I wouldn't recommend it for hardcovers or jackets however. Only paperbacks.

>9 WholeHouseLibrary: I understood the question asked was how to extend the useable life of books used by preschoolers, not how to retain resale value.

I mainly used it for one major project - to reinforce flimsy soft cover bibles for my adolescent Sunday school class. My copy has remained in excellent condition, with no yellowing.

>11 2wonderY: Good to know that you haven't experienced yellowing! I will maybe try it out. It would be far less expensive than the brodart product I imagine.

I use only archival quality coverings because I don't want to compromise the life of our books.

I've spent hundreds of hours removing contact plastic from dust jackets. Contact shrinks over time and makes a real mess to fix up. I've banned it from the building.

Mylar I use on new dust jackets.

Archival paper-backed/Mylar-fronted dust jacket protection on a roll is what I use for damaged, ancient or poor quality dust jackets.

Paperbacks that seem to get used a bit get inside corner reinforcement. More frequently used ones get full cover protection - again with archival quality material.

And people who see the our library invariably comment on how good it's looking, even though we've only done work on about 60% of it.

No book's life is going to compromised on MY watch!

Blessings to all you book protectors who LT,

Bevianne

>13 VicRML:

What do you reinforce the inside covers with for paper back?
At this point, I'm thinking it might be better to just buy the hardcover if I can find it at a decent price. It is an older book.

Okay, not dust jackets but I've decided to do a little experiment and patch up the outer pages that are threatening to start falling out of my paperback with some archive safe paper and good old white glue! It's apparently a staple of DIY bookbinders as it remains the most inert adhesive you can get, and any kind of tape would be a nightmare on the flimsy pages. The spine of the book is quite flexible and intact (made sure of it as I was reading) but the first few pages on the front and bag are near to dislodging (the spine is just under 2 inches wide. Fat book.) I post here how it goes, as another option for those looking.

>14 WeeTurtle: I use triangles of non-degrading Duraseal. I cut 5cm squares, then cut them diagonally. I also use them on paperback that will get a fair bit of use before I cover them with Duraseal.

>15 WeeTurtle: I've been saving up really badly deteriorated paperbacks (fit only for recycling as tp) to practise on before I start gluing pages back into our other paperbacks. I understand it takes a lot of skill and correct clamping to get it right, and I have a carton full of irreplaceable books wanting to get into service. Hastening slowly... and reading a lot of how-to-do-its.

But if your books are quick turnover ones, you might not want to be so fussy.

It's a personal book right now, but my own reading (and I'm a careful book handler) has already set some of the first few and last face pages to separating from the spine. The glue worked quite well for keeping them solidly in there. I used plain old Crayola washable white glue. There was some rippling to the pages because of the moisture, but there is no visible trace of the blue used. Some of the pages glued together slightly further away from the spine, (I wasn't as precise as I could have been) but they are still quite readable and not part of the story text, so I'm not worried. I can get pictures if people would like to see.

I tried a little on the cover where the corner is bending such that I can see the white inside of the paper. Didn't do much, and the area has a fogged-over look as the cover is gloss. Need a different option for that.

>18 WeeTurtle: It sounds like you're learning by experiment, WeeTurtle. Have fun!
Blessings,
Bevianne

>19 VicRML: Will do!

My whole library here is an experiment of sorts. I've just re-organized my categories and collections for the third time, and I'm still thinking of a classification system to work out, besides cutter numbers and date. Eventually I'll jump into making the actual catalogue after sorting out collection development policies. All this for less than 100 books so far. :D

>20 WeeTurtle:
It takes a lot of thinking and researching to get your system right for your library's and patrons' needs. And you might change things along the way. But the cardinal rule is 'Whatever system you use, be consistent. Otherwise you end up with no system'.

It sounds like you're on the right track, WeeTurtle.

Blessings,
Bevianne

Another question here. I was looking at Brodart reusable book covers and they only have height listed for sizing. I have acquired a number of picture books and I've decided to cover them for use since I'm going to start doing story times and I want to protect my books. I'm not sure if the Brodart covers would work since these picture books are square, so longer than I think they would be made for.

I have one picture book from a library and it looks like they just wrapped it in some manner of cover and taped it around the sides to fashion their own slip on. Is that probably the way to go? Or finding something that's on a roll rather than a specific width?

>22 WeeTurtle: You can get book jacket covers in rolls. I've never used it, but my former public librarian loved it.

I order the individual jacket covers for my school and get a variety of sizes. I get DEMCO Durafold covers, which come in a standard length, long length, and extra long length.

Edit: here's the link for the long and extra long 1.5 mil Durafolds: https://www.demco.com/products/Library-Supplies/Book-Protection/Book-Jacket-Cove...

>23 Hope_H: Are these covers generally removable? I might well take them off in the future, and don't mind a bit of adhesive on the inside of a book but I would be concerned by cover damage.

And one more noob question: Spine tape. Are there particular techniques to it? Seems a silly thought but I've done enough basic crafting to encounter things like glue placement causing an issue. If I have really fat book that one strip wouldn't cover, would I use two, one on each edge of the spine, or would I focus on the middle before the edges?

And is there any way to prevent moon shaped or slanted spines in paperbacks or is that just up to the habits of the reader?

>24 WeeTurtle: Yep - the Durafold covers are removable. There is a small adhesive patch that you have to be a little careful with, but basically it is removable. The rolls don't have the adhesive patch, so that would solve that problem.

As far as spine tape goes, maybe someone else with more expertise in repairs can answer, but I generally do one on each side and then one down the middle. I like symmetry and don't want any odd lumps down the back of the book. I'm self-taught, though, as book repair was NOT covered in any of my library classes.

I think with the paperbacks, it is up to the habits of the reader and also the shelving. While they are pretty, some of the shelving with curved/uneven shelves will warp the books.

So I bought a new book that is an ex library book and is in need of some repair. Can I use spine tape to repair or brace some of the inside pages? Almost each one is torn close to the spine, like someone turned it with their thumb too close to the center and the page ripped a little. I've done it before with books that have large pages or flimsy ones. Also considering clear packing tape.

The dusk jacket cover needs replacing as well. I'm not sure if it's a feature of the cover or something the person who covered it did, but the tape applied to keep the cover on was attached to pieces of paper instead of the inside of the book, and tucked inside, so all I hate to take off were the single pieces of tape holding the whole thing on.

One note of dust jacket covers, they can also be pretty tough it seems. I was helping in the returns room (library practicum!) and a staff member picked up a hardcover, noticing damage to the spine and the cover ripped, leaving her with only the top cover in her hand and the rest of the book suspended by the covered dust jacket. The dust jacket held.

>26 WeeTurtle: Spine tape should work fine. What would probably be ideal is a clear book tape such as this:

http://www.shopbrodart.com/Library-Supplies/Book-Care-and-Repair-Supplies/Tapes/...

I would steer clear of any packing tape. There is a good chance of it yellowing or otherwise disintegrating over time.

>27 ReadTree: Thanks! I was watching a librarian work with magazines today and she was using packing tape because it was likely the shelf life of the magazine would end before the tape, but I wasn't sure for long term which was preferred: book tape or clear packing tape. My only other concern would be if the book tape turns out over-thick since it's pretty much every inside page I'll need to reinforce. It's a picture book.

You're welcome!

I would be worried about packing tape disintegrating in a book. Book tape is a bit thick to use on every page. What about this? It's thinner but book safe.

http://www.brodart.ca/supplies/book-care-and-repair/Page-Repair-Tape-/_/Crystal-...

Or, if you look for an acid free document or photo repair tape you may find something suitable.

Hope you find something suitable!

Our book repair folks avoid tape inside books. The bulk of the tape adds stress to the bindings. They even avoid page repair tape and use an archival glue to repair rips on the pages. I would only use packing tape on something with a short shelf life.

This book is in bad shape, page wise. The tears are an issue because I'd like to use the book for storytime and I just can't be that gentle with the pages while holding up the book. I'm not sure how long the book will be around. I would replace the book entirely if I could, but I can't reliably find another copy.

I did get some Scotch book tape today, so I can reinforce the covers in a couple fat paperbacks that are already in danger of losing early pages. I've already tried to repair the one on the inside with white glue, but not the cover.

>31 WeeTurtle: Yikes! Please consider getting and using Japanese paper for page repairs. I'd never use Scotch or other self-adhesive tape inside any book. Maybe only for newsletters that will be recycled after a time, but nothing that is to be part of a permanent collection.

Please look at the Smithsonian's info on this: https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2013/03/13/the-fix-the-art-of-simple-paper-repa...

Blessings,
Bevianne

>32 VicRML: I was looking at a similar method to repair a page that had no text but was about to fall off, though my thought was some blank newsprint. The glue I have is very simple stuff and is suitable for things like bookbinding projects. I do have some Asian art paper around but I'm not 100% sure what it is.

The Scotch book tape is reserved for bindings only, since yea, it would fatten the book to a great degree and be highly annoying (and expensive) to use extensively.

>33 WeeTurtle: The acid in the newsprint leads to faster deterioration of the book's paper. If the book is a cheap throw-away one, that's probably ok. But if you want to keep it, probably not.

I don't use tapes inside a book not because they 'fatten' them, but because they can really mess things up as they (tapes) deteriorate. Again, if it's a throw-away book...

Ah. Thanks for the advice. :). My ultimate goal is to find another copy but without any idea how long that would take, long term is a possibility.