When unpacking shelf-ready materials that have been received directly from the vendor, some book formats should be sent to the Preservation Unit with a request for a binding or treatment decision. 

• books with loose materials (discs, maps, loose pages, plates or erratas)
• unusual bindings that may become damaged during shelving or use, such as covers with holes or cut-outs, or having extraneous materials like clasps; fragile items; spiral bound books or loose-leaf binders
• thin items, (i.e. books less than 1/4" thick or less than 70 pages)
• paperbacks too tall or without enough rigidity and that would easily fall over or down in the stacks; paperbacks too short to stand alone in the stacks and that need some reinforcement or rebinding
• pamphlets that need an in-house pamphlet cover (thin, unbound books made up of sheets of paper, folded or stapled or stitched together in th emiddle, and usually having a paper cover)