Reinforcing the paperbacks

Equipment to secure the bindings of paperbacks.

The paperbacks that were purchased late last year could not have the processing completed because the library ran out of funds to purchase plastic. I have found that taking the time to staple paperback prolongs their life, but it can only be done on those books that have a deep enough gutter. It is important when using the heavy duty stapler that the right sized staples are used as using incorrect staples ruins the stapler by jamming it and causes the books to have curled and mangled staples in them. You also need to have a pair of pliers on hand to remove any staples that misfeed or are too close to the edges. The staples then need to be hit with a small hammer to knock them in fully and usually the spine needs some contact or clear book tape as well. If the book is being covered completely in contact this step is not necessary. (the covering of the staples, not the bashing in, that is ). It is a bit noisy, and does not take that long if the books are graded by the width of the spine beforehand.