| In our age of electronic media, books have | | | | signatures are then glued together or to the |
| increasingly been treated with disrespect. This is | | | | headband, a piece of cloth that can be seen on the |
| unfortunate. First, some things are only available in | | | | hinge edge. This holds the signatures together as one |
| printed form and often few copies are available. | | | | block. |
| These might include old books, diaries, letters, legal | | | | The top of a book is the head, the bottom is the tail. |
| documents. Second, books are very portable and can | | | | Inside the cover is one sheet of paper glued to the |
| be read in spare moments. They don't require | | | | block and the cover. On the block side it is called the |
| batteries or need to be 'booted up'. | | | | end sheet. On the cover it is called the pastedown. |
| Books have changed the course of history. They are | | | | Most minor book damage comes in three forms. First, |
| responsible for the good, like the period of | | | | the pastedown starts to pull away from the cover. |
| enlightenment or freeing the American slaves, and for | | | | This makes the cover flop. This is repaired by |
| evil, like World War 2 and communist oppression. A | | | | inserting polyvinyl acetate adhesive (PVA) into the |
| book is a distillation of information; it is like spending | | | | damaged area with a long object like a knitting |
| hundreds of hours gleaning from an expert. Classics | | | | needle. Then the book must be pressed or clamped |
| should be treated with respect and preserved. | | | | in place until the glue is dry. |
| However, books are made of material that is finite | | | | The second type of damage requiring hinge |
| and thus books deteriorate. For this reason, | | | | tightening involves one or more of the signatures |
| treasured books will need to be repaired or restored | | | | coming loose. If this is a minor problem, it can also be |
| from time to time. To understand this, we need to | | | | carefully glued with the same adhesive and pressed |
| discuss the vocabulary of books. Since we don't have | | | | until dry. |
| a picture, get a hardback volume in hand and follow | | | | The third common type of repair is called tipping-in. It |
| along. | | | | is needed when a single sheet comes loose or needs |
| The majority of a book is the text block or book | | | | to be added. The technique involves making sure the |
| block. It is made up of parts called the pages, the | | | | glue is only applied to the edge of the loose sheet |
| leaves, the sheets, and the signatures. A leaf is made | | | | and that it is inserted and clamped to dry straight. |
| up of one piece of paper folded in half. This makes | | | | Of course, glue applied excessively or to the wrong |
| four pages, front and back. A sheet is each half. | | | | places may cause irreparable damage. If the wear to |
| When several leafs are combined, they make a | | | | the volume is serious or if you want to be sure it is |
| signature. | | | | repaired professionally, it would be good to entrust |
| Most books are bound as multiple signatures, each | | | | your precious book to an expert. |
| one sewed together and then compiled. The | | | | |