If you love books, collect books, or sell books Discarded Books: The Facelift for Ex-Library Books is a very handy reference book. Written and illustrated by j. godsey, the book contains simple, clearly-explained methods for prolonging the life of a book. Ms. godsey makes it clear that these repairs should not be attempted on rare or valuable books – but you can certainly use these handy tips on enhancing your own collection or books you are trying to sell. The tips are not just for ex-library books.
The book and its intent are best described by the book’s own Read Me section. ‘ This guide is intended to help extend the life and usefulness of books that have already lived a rich and full life as part of a library’s circulating collection. Regardless of what you may have learned from the Internet, fifty percent of library discards are utter trash, another forty percent are little more than reading copies and cleaned up can serve as very nice shelf copies. The other ten percent are books that are scarce in any condition and with a little bit of careful attention can be greatly improved upon. However there are a minute number of books that should not be ‘fixed’ by the amateur. One can easily turn a good book into scrap paper. It is more work for the conservator to correct a bad repair than to just restore the book.’
This book offers several options for each repair job so you can choose according to the solution you are most comfortable in attempting.
I have used many of these helpful tricks with some of my books. They can certainly take a ‘Good’ book to ‘Very Good’ or higher, easily. The testimonies on her web-site show many others are also using these helpful solutions.
Ms. godsey has an fresh approach to writing; both easy to read and down to earth in directions and instructions. The 28 page booklet is chock-full of good advice from the ‘Stuff You May Need’ to the detailed, illustrated directions for repairing shaken hinges, loose signatures, missing free endpapers, etc.
Ms. godsey maintains www.bookdeodorizer.com where Discarded books may be purchased. The site also contains information on the Book Deodorizer product and (sic) the book humor magazine.
Joan White is co-owner of White Unicorn Books at www.whiteunicornbooks.com. White Unicorn Books specializes in Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Arkham in addition to their general stock.
ed:
this edition has been replaced with a new 2009 edition
Book Repair for Booksellers: A guide for booksellers offering practical advice on book repair
List Price: $16.00, 6″ x 9″ (15.24 x 22.86 cm)
Black & White on Cream paper, 90 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1442137325 ISBN-10: 1442137320
A handy guide for booksellers and book collectors offering practical advice on how to improve the quality and look of your books and ephemera.
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