Book Repair: An Introduction

The preservation and repair of informational material is a topic as old as the first civilization to record knowledge: the Mesopotamians. The very first method of writing was done with a stylus on clay tablets, which although very long-lasting inevitably needed at least some kind of repair every once in a while. Since that civilization's demise, however, the methods used to record information has changed several times, eventually becoming the codex and electronic book which we are familiar with today. Since these are the forms we are familiar with, and since it is in our interest to preserve the knowledge of the past, it is imperative that we are knowledgeable about the best ways to repair those media in which we record our civilization's body of work. The definition of book repair involves the mending activities which are used to correct problems caused by use, age, poor storage conditions, or problematic materials and/or structure. To this end, we at LibrarianBound will be presenting posts which will attempt to educate on the topic of book repair and preservation.