In the Main and departmental libraries on the Danforth campus there are over three million print books and journals and a gate count of over one million entrances yearly.

Alongside its other tasks, the Presevation Unit treats many physical materials in the Libraries' collections that suffer damage from use and handling, that are turning brittle with age, or are sent to it for other reasons.

This guide shows some of the more common book treatments performed in the Preservation Unit.

What is shown here is not intended for rare books or historically or artistically valuable bindings, but for commercially produced common bindings such as those in common use today. They are NOT intended for anything related to Special Collections.

There are many treatments not shown. We hope to add these to this guide in the near future.

The most common repairs and treatments are full and partial repairs of hardbound books, hinge tightening, reinforcing paperback bindings, pamphlet binding, making protective enclosures, tipping-in loose sheets, photocopying replacement pages, paper mends and putting-in or replacing pockets.