The property stamp used by the libraries for many books is usually put on the lower right hand corner of the page before the title page.
If for some reason it cannot be applied in this location, then the lower right hand corner of the inside back cover is used. If the paper is glossy (the stamp will then smear) a regular property plate is used instead -- applied to the center of the inside front cover-board.
It is important when using this stamp (or other older-style stamps) not to stress the area where the board meets the spine of the book. In the picture below, the pressure of the stamp stresses the spine of the book at the hinge.When stamping or otherwise putting pressure on the front or back board of the book, be sure the board is lying flat.
NOT like this:
LIKE THIS: notice how the back board is flat. This can also apply to scanning barcodes.
Security strips inserted into books and journals in the circulating collections have the benefit of helping protect materials from theft or loss but at the same time can be damaging to pages if not applied properly. Many security strips are put in by the shelf-ready vendor or by the commercial binder, but many are put in during in-house processing. We recommend that priority be given to putting these magnetic strips in the spine of the book or journal, if possible.
If inner-spine placement is not possible, then it is acceptable to put them in the gutter of the book between pages. We recommend putting a strip in the last ten pages of the book or journal. The reason for this is that if the textblock of the book breaks over time due to wear-and-tear, it often breaks at the security strip. If the break occurs in the last ten pages, the book can be easily fixed in-house.
This short YouTube video shows a proper way of inserting a 3M Magnetic Strip between pages of a book.
