Tag Archives: How to protect a book

A CoLibri Jacket with an Encapsulated Spine

UC Libraries are faced with many books in need repair. Often, books must be thoughtfully housed while they wait their turn for treatment priority.

For books with a detached spine, this option can be challenging to find a solution to prevent the spine from becoming lost or crushed (especially if fragile leather!).

As an alternative to storing a loose spine in a baggy or envelope, or holding the spine in place with a cloth tie, behold a satisfying and easy solution…

…to encapsulate the loose spine in a SCRAP of a polyethylene CoLibri jacket, then attach it to the jacket itself!

This option gives the look and feel of a repaired binding, with none of the work!

Detached spine and book are sitting on the bed of the CoLibri welding machine next to plastic sleeves to use for the jacket.
Cloth covered binding with a fully detached spine ready for a CoLibri jacket

To Encapsulate:

1. First make a polyethylene pocket with the spine inside. Create a pocket taller than the book height. Weld the pocket only on the long sides at this time. Continue to leave the length taller than the book at both the top and bottom. You will weld the head and tail later and will need this length for both welds!

The spine is encapsulated in the polyethylene clear plastic on the long edges. There is excess plastic material at the top and bottom edge where it is not welded.

2. Grab a CoLibri jacket that is larger than the height of the book. Wrap the CoLibri jacket around the book. Take care to make the book squared and centered in the jacket.

The encapsulated spine pocket sits next to the closed book. The book is sitting on top of an un-used CoLibri jacket that is taller than the book.

3. Position the encapsulated spine under the jacket against the spine of the book. Center it and align as close as possible to where it would have once sat.

Book is closed with the jacket wrapped around the book. The encapsulated spine pocket is loosely in place at the spine.

4. Place light weights on the opened covers to help hold the pages upright and prevent the jacket from sliding. Make any last minute spine adjustments at this time.

The book is laid cover side down with the covers opened on each side with bags of weights to hold it in place. The pages are closed, sticking upright with the help of the weights.

5. Weld the jacket at the head to secure the pocket in place.

Book with jacket and spine pocket welded at the top edge. The un-welded bottom of the jacket and pocket protrudes out from below the book in excess.

6. Next, weld the jacket at the fore edges. At this time you can close the book and wiggle the book side to side to also help re-position the spine into place.

7. Weld the CoLibri jacket at the tail. The pocket will now be attached to the top and bottom welds on the jacket!

Book with completed jacket. Book is sitting on the CoLibri welder bed with view of spine.

This solution results in a spine that is safely held to the book during storage without a concern of it becoming lost.  The only way it can become lost is if the jacket is removed from the covers!

Overall view of book with finished CoLibri jacket with encapsulated spine.
Encapsulated spine is securely attached with CoLibri jacket.
Book with front cover opened with view of the spine.
When book is opened, the encapsulated spine pops away from book.

Below are two preventive-conservation treatment reports where this option was successfully utilized for two leather bound books. Click the links to view the reports on the University of Cincinnati’s Digital Resource Commons:

Ashleigh Ferguson Schieszer – Conservator