Covering Paperback Books

We put a lot of work into ensuring that our books are protected here at the library, but there isn't any reason why you can't do the same at home. Nathan shows you how we cover paperback books here at the library so you can try your hand at protecting your own collection.
Kapco products used can be found on Amazon:
www.amazon.com/s?k=kapco+book...

[@FayeVert]

I'm getting ready to start an ATS assistant job and I've watched this like five times and bought contact paper to practice with. I'm gonna blow them away on my first day. Thanks for this.

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

Fantastic! Congratulations!

[@jdslott3505]

Great use of the corner pieces, putting them back on the inside to strengthen the edges!

[@muskndusk]

It's easier if you put the contact paper on the same way as the other stuff: cut to fit the entire book with overlap, as shown in the video, but then start placing it on the book by unrolling a piece at a time, smoothing it down as you go. This way, the contact paper won't stick to itself (which it almost did) and is less likely to trap bubbles. Basically, you can do the back the same way as the front. I've done this many times with old paperbacks.

[@youssouf.a]

Thanks for the instructions, clear and concise.

[@thomasknapp6403]

Wonderful job and a great tutorial. Now to getting up the courage to do it myself. Thanks

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

You'll do great!

[@danielalejandrofuentestoro2540]

This is just fantastic, just what I was looking for, thank you 😁😁

[@aitsan2173]

Any reason in specific why you recommend using the specific type of cover over the other for each respective book? (Fiction vs non-fiction) Unless I misunderstood and it was only for demonstration's sake?

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

Our fiction tends to circulate a little more...so it gets the hard plastic. You could certainly use whatever type you feel comfortable with, but the hard plastic is more durrable.

[@aitsan2173]

@@CommunityLibraryNetwork thank you and for taking the time to reply:)

[@rubyandhiro]

Thank you so much for this video, it's so helpful!!! I have a question: How do you preserve books with dust jackets, and hardcover books with no dust jackets?

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

Great question, Mel. We don't really do much to books without dust jackets. Sometimes we will reinforce the spine with some tape, but usually we label them and then put them on the shelf. For those with dust jackets we use a product put out by "The Library Store" called Open Edge specifically designed to go over the dust jacket and then we secure the wrapped jacket to the book using a thin strapping tape...might be time to shoot the next video🙂

[@monicagum5782]

I looks like you would have had enough contact paper to run the book the other way and save a lot of excess.

[@nahansen2468]

Wouldn’t quite have enough to roll enough over to the inside of the cover. However we use our “scraps” for all sorts of things around the library, so nothing’s wasted.

[@billincolorado]

Great demonstration. I am a lover of books and have been taking care of my hardcover copies with dust jacket protection for a number of years. I am eyeing some rather expensive softcover books from CRC Press and Academic Press and looking for ways to protect them. Watching your demonstration on covering non fictional books is just what I want to do. I am particularly interested in the forgiveness that the product you use allows. What I mean that is, if there is an an air bubble or other problem the cover can be peeled back and relayed. The question that I have is, you mention the manufacturer Kapco at the beginning of the video but it looks like you use Pacon Protecto on non fiction book protection. Is that correct? Is this forgiveness common among clear contact material manufactures?

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

The hard plastic covers are from Kapco,. The softer more flexible cover is by Pacon (www.pacon.com) and is their "Protecto Film." There are other soft covers similar to Pacon, but they may not release and relay as easily and stay in place the same in the long term. I suspect if you get some of the ones they have out in the stores right now for "back to school" sales, they are going to be much different quality. The Pacon brand ones do come in a really large roll, so if you don't have a bunch of books to do you might look for an alternative.

[@religayt]

Cen the contact paper be removed after months or years of use without damaging the book?

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

We do remove the contact paper on occasion. If it's been on there a while heating it up with a hair dryer will help, but it usually comes off without much of a problem.

[@zane4714]

Thanks for sharing. I’ve used rigid covers to cover books before but they always end up curling the book cover edges back towards the spine once applied. It looks like the same happens for you in this demo. Is there a trick to applying the coverings so they don’t curl the book covers?

[@postfallslibrary1322]

They usually curl very slightly when first applied but relax after a couple of hours of being sandwiched between other books in the stacks. It's never really been a problem.

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

Same here.

[@gerrys4822]

Awesome. Was not aware of the easy-bind tape. That is a GAME CHANGER for my books with broken or split spines. The glue sometimes cracks over the years, or people mishandle them and break them. That stuff is great. I need to try it out.

[@gerrys4822]

Worked in rare book libraries and in public libraries and in special collections archives. Never used this stuff, but I WILL use it now. I've seen it on paperback books in smaller public libraries and often wondered about it. You pretty much answered all my questions on applying it and on it being acid free and replaceable. How much is a roll of this stuff? Guess it depends on the size roll. I do signs so I'm expert at all things squeegee. Lol just have to adapt those skills to a much smaller area. But you did an AWESOME JOB and were very thorough and meticulous! Thanks. I'll be doing this now for all of my ppbk books in my own collection. Which do you recommend for older paperbacks that are rare and out of print. Also can we have the older ppbks rebound and made into hardcover? Any tricks or suggestions on that? Also how can I fix damaged book bindings on both hdbck and ppbks? I use to use SOBO glue. But there is probably a better way. Thanks again. 😉👍🏻

[@gerrys4822]

The binding tape strips is a NEAT TRICK. I love that. Thanks SO MUCH! Pro advice here. I'll be doing this for my personal collection. Not nearly as much use as a library. Lol. But still worth doing! 😉

[@doorran]

how easy can this be removed later?

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

The soft plastic one can be removed fairly easily (using a hair dryer or heat gun to warm it a bit helps), but the hard plastic one is much more difficult.

[@valeriabeneke5879]

Hello, not sure you will see this but I have tried doing this for my paperback books but on the 2 test runs I did I got lots of bubbles, do you think the quality of the paper could be the problem or something else? Do you have any tips? Also I live in Europe so I have not found the brand of paper you mentioned (I mean the second type btw, not the hard) but maybe you have a tip on how to find better quality paper. Thanks a lot!!

[@CommunityLibraryNetwork]

We've found the brand of the film does matter. You want something flexible and sticky...but not too sticky. Not sure what is available in Europe, but you may ask what your local library uses and see if you can source that. Some of our staff find it really helpful to use a plastic squeegee to move all the small bubbles together into one big bubble and then work the big bubble toward the edge, so you might try that too. Finally, sometimes the cover may have a treatment on it to provide a different tactile experience for the reader. Those treatments can make it really difficult to get a cover material to stick properly. Hope that helps.

[@gerrys4822]

One trick we learn in the sign business is to NOT lift transfer tape (or vinyl decals) to high up from the surface when applying. NEVER have a 90° angle, and even a 45° angle is risky for an amateur. Better to get it REALLY CLOSE ...like say a 20° angle from the surface of the book to squeegee from. That way you have less risk trapping air as you squeegee it down. Just a SLIGHT angle or distance from the surface is all that's required. Maybe put something flat and hard and glossy under the clear cover while squeegeeing down. You hand is fine, but its not flat or even. So you risk getting bubbles. Finally, you needs to ALWAYS SAUEEGEE OUT FROM TGE CENTER (towards the edge) on ANY SURFACE. Like the man said in the video, only do SMALL SECTIONS at a time. Slowly and be patient. If you rush and try to do larger sections you risk bubbles or a crease etc. Always push outwards from the center. Safest way to do it. As a last resort, you could take an exacto knife blade and gently poke tiny hole(s) in the bubbles if you don't feel like peeling the tape back up just to remove one tiny bubble.

[@brooklynatticbooks]

I don't like contact paper on the book cover. I wish libraries would stop that.

[@nancychalk4607]

It really does help the book stand up to multiple check outs. It’s also easy to clean. So I hope it doesn’t stop you from borrowing them.

[@gerrys4822]

Well, what do you think about the OTHER way he demonstrated using the other product? What is your reasoning for not liking it? Discoloration? Would you rather the covers get curled and creased or bent or torn from constant use? Hmmm🤔....could you explain the cons of doing this sir? Just curious.

[@zulby09]

Where’s the blood 🩸 and gore? No sex and violence?