Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1922-06-14
KEEPING BOOKS IN CONDITION
Frederic J. Haskin.

1
washington. Juno 14,--Bookbind'ng
standards are changing. The old be-
| lief that leather ls the only worthy
and durable binding for good book
/ fl now almost discounted. Libraries
no longer add regularly 10 their rows
Of old volumes bound in aristocratc
red and brown leather. Buckrnm, uti-
itarian and unromantic IN supplant-
Ing morocco and calf.
The Library of Congress. which
binds 10000 volumes a year Tor us
own shelves. says that this is n
natural development OF our large
scale of civilization. When leather
was prepared by hand by European
craftsmen It was undoubtedly ma
lterlal of great lasting qualities. But
now factory methods prevail ana
Leather is efficiently tanned with acids.
This process does not affect shoes
purses, and other articles that are
expected TO last only n few years at
most. But when II comes to a
valuable book that counts its lifetime
by decades and centuries. an acid
, test that Il cannot be expected "a
stand
This development has contributed e
q tho rise Of buckram. This material Is
said TO outlast the modern acid tanned
Z leather. and II IN even contended that
4 II VIII wear longer than the old hand
n prepared. acid free feathers. II vii
: be some time before this point Is
settled. because buckram has been ir
use only about % years. and a fin,
n grade Of old leather has been know
/. to stand more than two centuries o.
n wear.
- For n fow years. the Library o
- Congress has been able 10 got aci'
g free leather for Some OF It's valuabI
books Strangely enough, II Is not tn
10 latest magic OF science which is max
=" ing this possible. The leather Is oh
,. tanned from savages OF Africa VIII
IL prepare the skins of the Niger goat b
Ia some crude native process.
This leather Ia in demand FOR ol
ie and heavy books. Buckram. however
4. Is being generally used to bind eve
II important collections Of documents :
70 the Library OF Congress. a tri
Y through the stacks in the mnnuscrir
Or division shows long series Of volume
m encasod in olive green, brown. or Rra
- buchram covers with panels of leathe
n of the Same color decorating the back
ID and forming bark background fC
IN the gold lettering Of the titles.
Library Binds Books.
A. This library, with the country
OF largest collection Of books 70 keep
liz order. attempts to solve most OF +
~. own bookbindlng and repairing que
or lions. Old volumes cracking with as
n and now paper-covered additions 70 Il
90 shelves are bound in tho big libral
building by a force Of workers d
n tailed from the Government Prin
J. ing Office.
ck Few visitors know Of the e1isten
OF u the library's bookbindery, hidd'
az away IN the basement IN long room
u. opening or O. red and white corridC
~ Here 10 people work at an endless j.
u book binding. There are nearly
Sc 900 900 books in the Government
OF library and about 100 900 new bool
Of Many of the new works have on
r. hlrnsy paper covers, and all OF the
q must be either put in envelope or Sc
re- viceably bound. Then there are l
os Volumes OF Newspaper 70 be collect
os in huge tones every month, and
.. sides all this there Is a constant stres
:, of worn books 70 be repaired.
- The boCbbindery merely tries
keep from being swamped. II canr
~ accomplish nearly all OF the work
would Ike to do II appropriations pt
mitted. Some year the superintende
OF the division hopes to have ~
TIE iciently large appropriation so III
ne can conduct a grand overhaul
,ck and see that every book on the shelly
Is n first class condition. But that
"u only one OF the castles in the air viii
, a Government chiefs and supervise
Ike TO build. There Is scant prospe
ny q any extra sized appropriati To
from Congress for patching up boo
mt that are unobtrusiveIy dls!ntegrati
Is on library shelves.
in. The binders IN the library shop
sue thorough work. Cover boards &
me laced into each volume making I
binding ! part Of the book and !
-. merely a glued on covering. The biz
ings in heavy books are reinforC
nd. with a cloth joint.
l,,, The library workers can replace
c4eap. worn out cover by a dura
the ohe. but they are practically helpl
b9fore the inferior grades Of pal
Ugh Oh which the cheaper modern boo
are printed. some Of the popular nov
'N' 80 TO pieces like the "one-hOss shs
he Of Holmes poem. Not only do the G,
ers wear out. but the paper ed
ms tear. and the threads cut through
paper whore the book Is sewed
I'D gether. Books Of this grade and POI
ust larity have short, Intense career {
are discarded when they can no lol
% er be repaired.
and Preserving Newspapers.
How to preserve newspapers Is
and more difficult problem. The New Y
,rg public library has HIT on plan VIII
it regards as satisfactory. Each p.
ned of news print in a bound volume
had enclosed in thin Japanese tissue.
prepare one volume Of q newspal
containing only a months issues.
are this method costs $54. But with an
10 the future. when the newspapers
syM