Binding and Collections Care Division
The Binding and Collections Care Division (BCCD) is responsible for the preservation of the Library's heavily accessed General Collections, achieved through the following activities:
- binding preparation and management of the binding contract
- shelf preparation
- batch collections conservation
- large-scale collections housing
- integrated workflows and close collaboration with other Library staff involved with reformatting and mass deacidification
The work of the division is carried out by two organizational units, Library Binding Section and Collections Care Section. The division hosts a volunteer internship for students seeking further experience in collections conservation or preservation administration.
Library Binding Section
The Library Binding Section is responsible for providing binding preparation and shelf preparation for the Library's General Collections and Copyright deposits.
Binding preparation includes binding services for newly cataloged, unbound monographs; retrospective collections; and for unbound serial issues cumulated and processed by custodial divisions. The Section coordinates these activities using the enhanced version of the Advanced Bindery Library Exchange (ABLE 7.0) web-based software, which replaced the outdated Library Automated Retrieval System (LARS) at the Library in March 2012.
Shelf preparation is the preparation of newly acquired, bound Library materials and includes actions such as call number labeling and property stamping.
Left: Vintage bindings. Center: Books ready to be bound. Right: Bound books waiting for shelving.
The Library has tested a variety of commercially available pressure-sensitive labels and has developed specifications for call number labels and barcode labels affixed to the exterior of the book, and for Library of Congress Control Number (LCCN) barcode labels affixed within the book. See the Library's Specifications (700 series) for additional information.
Collections Care Section
Collections Care Section provides conservation treatment and housing for the General Collections on a large scale in a cost-effective manner, filling the gap between the two options of single-item conservation treatment and commercial library binding to address damaged collections. Treated items are out of circulation for a minimal amount of time and retain significant artifactual and informational components.
Conservation treatment for the General Collections employs accepted conservation practices and materials, but is accomplished on a production scale through batch treatment of similar condition problems (e.g., tip-ins; page mending; recasing; creating or mending covers; text-block consolidation; preservation photocopying to replace damaged or missing leaves); separate preparation of an extensive, but standardized array of repair materials; and strict adherence to standardized methods and procedures with quality control in lieu of extensive documentation.
Left: Book undergoing treatment. Center: Pre-cut supplies for repairing books. Right: Book drying in a book press.
Left: The computer connected to the box-cutting machine reads the book's measurements for a custom fit. Center: The machine cuts the custom-fit boxes out of preservation quality board and maximizes the number of boxes that can be cut from a single piece of board. Right: Staff assemble the box and pair with the item.
Brittle, extremely damaged, or non-standard format items (e.g., spiral bindings, children's books in the shape of animals) may require protective enclosures. Custom-fitted enclosures, or housings, are efficiently measured and cut from preservation-quality board using an automated box-cutting machine system.
