How I Remove Stickers and Library Covers From My Books

Removing library covers from books can be a daunting task. Removing stickers can be infuriating. Hopefully today's video has equipped you with some tools and tips to make both of these tasks a little easier.
Products Used:
Goo Gone with Sticker Lifter: amzn.to/3t3MCNh
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[@SarahAsYouWish]

With most stickers, you can blast them with a hair dryer on high for 20-30 seconds, and they will peel right off with no residue left behind.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I've tried that too. I have found it's kind of hit and miss depending on the type of sticker it is.

[@karakask5488]

I do the same but with the hair dryer on low for longer and peel while heating

[@ov3rtly]

Would you mind telling me is laminated stickers work?

[@helenarichard]

Yes, i even managed to remove a stubborn old decall from a car that way. Who knew it would be so easy to fix.

[@tyler2610]

That’s what I always do as well. Unless the sticker is really old and the adhesive is completely dried out it works great with no damage. I usually have to still use the Goo Gone after but not chance of tearing anything with a scraper and with the adhesive softened it greatly reduces the risk of pulling up the paper underneath

[@AmysBookishLife]

I get so many books for my classroom from library book sales, and never even thought that it would be possible to take the library cover off. This will save me and my library a lot of grief retrieving old books that accidentally get returned to the library and are now mine!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I hope this helps!! It can be time consuming, but if you put on a good audiobook and dedicate some time to it it's definitely worth it!

[@Writing4Jesus247]

What a cool video idea! I usually just pull off the library binding and use goo gone for stickers😊

[@beautifulminutiae]

I didn’t know you could use goo gone on paperbacks! I’m always afraid to take stickers off, especially when it’s a sticker on the spine (like thrift books or goodwill). I’ve had it tear before and so I usually just leave it. This video was super helpful!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Oh good! There are many books I have to weigh the risk of removing the stickers. Sometimes it's worth it and sometimes it's not. I guess it depends on if the stickers bother you or not.

[@joanmitchell6271]

@@OnTheMiddleShelf When the stickers are difficult to remove, a little goo gone can soak through the paper of the sticker and help hasten the removal. You do need more goo gone if the sticker paper cannot first be removed, at least in part. As for the plastic covers, I don't always trash them. They help protect the dust jacket. I actually buy the dust jacket covers and add them to my books when I can. Stickers on the outside of the plastic can be removed with goo gone or just peeled off. One caviat about buying from Better World Books: Sometimes your book will have a broken spine. Better World Books won't always tell you about this unhappy surprise, which is a hazard of buying ex-library books. The broken spine can be repaired, but you need expensive tools and space to set them up; the job is time-consuming and requires skills I unfortunately do not possess. That said, I do have some ex-library books, many purchased from Better World Books.

[@burlingtoncommunitylibrary2932]

This inspires me to remove old library covers (to get at their barcodes and spine labels) instead of covering them with more stickers! For the last few years I have been putting our library barcodes and such on the OUTSIDE of the plastic. BTW Thriftbook labels are the worst on pb books!

[@murdock162002]

Oh man. I needed this today. Just got some from thriftbooks and I need to remove some stickers! Ya!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Oh yay! Glad you found it helpful!

[@natalieharroch-harper7247]

Me too!!! Fully wasnt expecting a former library edition. Didn't read that in the description. Disappointing but at least the library cover had protected the dust jacket!

[@tonyabonifay1270]

Well, I just realized you are probably not a reseller, but a book lover! Resellers probably don’t have time to give their books this careful treatment. Such good information!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Yeah, I don't resell my books. But I live for them to look nice!

[@Applecompuser]

Thank you for posting. Just bought out of print book for $85.00 and it turns out it was library discard. Thank you again.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Oh man!! I hope this is helpful!

[@rachelskaggs7847]

Very helpful video, thank you! I will be looking for that type of goo gone! I cannot stand stickers left on my books. I typically use a Pampered Chef small pan scraper, works great!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

The goo gone is great for the left over residue for sure.

[@joanmitchell6271]

Regular goo gone also works.

[@jenniferdobbs7092]

I have un-du and love it! I haven't seen Goo Gone in clear, only in orange color and was afraid to try it, thinking it might turn the paper orange.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I have used the orange before. This was my first time using the clear. It doesn't color the pages at all.

[@WildeBookGarden]

This is such a helpful video!! Now I won’t feel so frustrated if I receive a library discard when the listing didn’t say that, because I’ll actually know how to remove the plastic!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Yay!! I know. It can be really frustrating sometimes.

[@AlephOmega-zy5qs]

Thanks for the video. I got a biography of Grace Hopper off ThriftBooks and a library barcode sticker is over her face on the book cover under the library cover. It's been bothering me for months now. I'm going to fix that with your methods!

[@debbieperleberg8230]

Very informative! Thank you, Amanda.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Glad it was helpful!

[@SammyWarmHands]

Very helpful, thanks!

[@kfp10596]

Amanda....thank you so much for doing this. I have a terrible time with stickers

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I hope this helps!

[@foxinbox500]

Are the library covers Mylar? If so, why remove

[@kayleem5586]

You could always use your hair blow dryer on the sticker before trying to remove it to. That helps loosen the glue.

[@dr.strangelove7256]

thanks for the help.

[@krissyn.3366]

I'll have to try the Goo Gone. I also find rubbing alcohol great for removing sticky residue and it dries without leaving anything behind.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I had never heard of that! Great tip!

[@helenarichard]

What is rubbing alcohol? Is that wax benzene or is it desinfecting alcohol?

[@krissyn.3366]

@@helenarichard It's Isopropyl Alcohol or disinfecting alcohol. We call it rubbing alcohol in the US.

[@SpecialKrissy95]

I always check the dollar store book shelves & I am in SHOCK that you found a Brit Bennett book there! That’s awesome, I’m jelly lol

[@storytales4870]

Oh no! My library book cover is firmly glued in place. Thanks for saying something before I destroyed my book!

[@yanchi7831]

Damn I accidentally ripped some manga that my sister took from her library. Since it will be thrown out, I stopped doing it immediately. Thank you for this. Now I know what to use 😭

[@DarkwingSnark]

"My scissors were too thick" The scissor: honey, you say that like it's a BAD thing. Still, all joking aside, this has been very helpful. Thank you!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

🤣🤣🤣

[@sharonginger2997]

Thank you this are helpful

[@NancyinMich]

“UnDo” works much better on getting stickers off, saturate sticker and it slides right off with out having to peel sticker off before hand and it does not harm paper or cover.

[@tonyabonifay1270]

Thank you for this! So useful, and I like how you covered so many possible sticker scenarios. I didn’t know taking the library plastic covers off was a good idea-do you find the book sell better?

[@infinite2209]

Why is it a good idea?

[@joanmitchell6271]

@@infinite2209 Taking off the plastic (which often is mylar) is a good idea if you want to remove stickers from the actual book dust jacket. You cannot remove such stickers with the protective cover in your way. The whole object to doing anything shown in this video is to make your ex-library books look like they were purchased for your own use to begin with. There are non-destructive methods of removing the dust jacket covers that can be used in place of the method shown.

[@ScullyPopASMR]

This is a really cool process.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Thanks!

[@piayootoob]

if it has the library plastic cover over the dust cover, why would you want it off? isn't it better off with this protection on? it will protect it from spills and you can easily wipe off any soils..

[@joanmitchell6271]

It's not usually the plastic cover one wants to dispose of, it's the stickers under the cover. There are non-destructive methods of removing the cover so you could remove the stickers on and under the plastic, then put the protective cover back in place. This is what I do. I just do not have a tutorial to show how it's done.

[@piayootoob]

@@joanmitchell6271 yes, those stickers are annoying.

[@gwenmichigander277]

I have an ex-library book. They seem to have used laminating sheets on the cover instead of the plastic. Is it possible to remove it without damage? (If not, it doesn’t bother me too much) Edit: saw you had a similar situation. I’ll just leave the book be then. The cover’s not taped to the book, so I could possibly replace the cover if I really wanted.

[@exploringitall8588]

You should use a hair dryer, it’s so easy to remove labels and tape if you give it some light heat

[@helenarichard]

Do not use lemon oil btw folks. That is good for metal cases of cosmetics. Not books apparently 😅

[@oliveeggplant1979]

Thank you for doing this video

[@divannaviton5488]

I agree thank you so much

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

My pleasure!

[@sadie_hawkins52]

What about library stickers on leather books? Do you / anyone know how I can get those off? I bought old Franklin library and and the catalog author sticker is on the bottom of it and it’s sooo sticky I feel like it’s taking off the color with it when I pull it

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I'm not sure about old stickers on leather.

[@joanmitchell6271]

WD-40 or mineral oil are better choices for removing stickers from leather or vinyl.

[@skraper182]

what if you use UN-DU? I saw other videos and it might be even more easy

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I have never used it. I may try that next!

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

Question: if there’s a nice library cover (not crinkly plastic) then why wouldn’t one want to keep the nice dust jacket protected?

[@RileyDemski]

Then there's me. I put the jackets on them myself!!

[@Battesbooksandhooks]

sometime you can use a hair dryer for stickers

[@SigifredoCoria]

Great information, thank you .

[@Frank_42]

Exacto knives are not good because they can cut the book. Plastic tools might be good if you can get a decent edge. It's not just ripping the book. A lot of stickers start off peeling well, but then a thin layer of paper from the sticker wants to stick to the cover. My library likes to scotch tape the plastic jacket right to the inside paper of the hard cover as well as to the jacket. I know they don't want people stealing books, but it seems like a crime against historical preservation. You would never see a museum putting tape and stickers all over everything.

[@5wm562]

HEAT GUN! BLOW DRYER!

[@jbrisby]

She says Goo Gone will dry, what she doesn't tell you is that it WILL stain. That oily wet look on the paper or the cloth binding? Yeah, that's there to stay.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I have used Goo Gone on cloth covers multiple times and never had them stain my books. Not sure why you think it would.

[@joanmitchell6271]

I have used goo gone for about 15 years on books (both hard covers and paperback, and other surfaces too.) The oily wet look remains for several hours, maybe even over night. That is your indication that evaporation is not complete. It eventually disappears. Time required for complete evaporation varies according to the temperature of your environment and how much goo gone you used. Obviously less is better.

[@jbrisby]

Jesus Christ it's painful to see you not even owning a craft knife.

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

Sorry you find that painful, but I don't own one. And I don't see the need to. I am able to use what I have on hand perfectly fine.

[@tanyawillisanderson]

Very helpful - thanks !!

[@OnTheMiddleShelf]

I'm so glad you found it helpful!