Book Repair Survey
Circulating Collections

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Conducted March 1996
(96 libraries responding)

Clara Keyes

Survey Questionnaire

Posted to Conservation DistList

Date: 19 Feb 96
From: Clara Keyes <c.keyes@morehead-st.edu>
Subject: Book repair survey

Book Repair in Circulating Collections

Please forward the attached survey to the appropriate person in your
organization. Results of this survey will be used for a presentation
for the annual meeting of the Ohio Valley Group of Technical
Services Librarians (OVGTSL). Please respond by April 1, 1996.

To respond via e-mail, choose reply or forward. Either will allow
you to edit the survey. Enter you answers by typing an X or other
response in the blank, or by typing an X next to the best response.
Return the form to me at c.keyes@morehead-st.edu, or print, mark,
and mail the form if you prefer. My mailing address appears at the
end of the survey.

Thank you for your participation.

Survey Results

1. Do personnel in your library perform routine book repairs in-house?

+------+----+
| yes  | no |
|------|----|
| 100% |    |
+------+----+

2. How many FTE workers in your library perform book repair?

+--------------+-------+
| 0-2          | 69.8% |
|--------------|-------|
| 3-5          | 22.9% |
|--------------|-------|
| 6-10         | 5.2%  |
|--------------|-------|
| more than 10 | 2.1%  |
+--------------+-------+

Of these, how many FTE workers are:

+-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------------+
|                             | 0-2   | 3-5   | more than 5 |
|-----------------------------|-------|-------|-------------|
| 3. full- or part-time staff | 82.3% | 12.5% | 5.2%        |
|-----------------------------|-------|-------|-------------|
| 4. students                 | 85.4% | 10.5% | 4%          |
|-----------------------------|-------|-------|-------------|
|                             | 0     | 1     | 2 or more   |
|-----------------------------|-------|-------|-------------|
| 5. volunteers               | 85.4% | 11.5% | 3.1%        |
+-----------------------------+-------+-------+-------------+

6. Have any of the book repair staff received training in preservation repairs from any source?

+-------+---------------+
| yes   | no            |
|-------|---------------|
| 86.5% | 12.5%         |
+-------+---------------+

If yes, where?

+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| 7.   SOLINET, AMIGOS, or other     | 19.8%                               |
| similar agency                     |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 8.   formal courses or             | 14.6%                               |
| apprenticeship                     |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 9.   NEH-funded conservation       | 27.1%                               |
| technician training                |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 10.  in-house training conducted   | 60.4%                               |
| by qualified trainer               |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 11.  training videos or manuals    | 60.4%                               |
| (Milevski, Morrow, Johns           |                                     |
|     Hopkins, etc)                  |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 12.  other (describe)              | 30.2% Most listed workshops         |
|                                    | sponsored by local or regional      |
|                                    | consortia, private in-house         |
|                                    | workshops, etc                      |
+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

13. Which department in your library is responsible for routine book repair?

+-----------------------------+-------+
| cataloging/tech svcs        | 31.3% |
|-----------------------------|-------|
| preservation                | 35.4  |
|-----------------------------|-------|
| bindery or book repair      | 9.4%  |
| unit                        | *     |
|-----------------------------|-------|
| other (specify)             | 24%   |
|                             | **    |
+-----------------------------+-------+

On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being never and 5 being very frequently, how often is each of the following repairs/procedures is performed by your library staff in-house? (Mark 6 if the procedure is not done in-house)

+-------------------------------------+------------------------------------+
|                                     | Percentage that marked 4 or 5      |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 14. constructing pamphlet binders   | 14.6%                              |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 15. sewing/stapling pamphlets into  | 36.5%                              |
| pre-made binders                    |                                    |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 16. paperback                       | 29.2% marked 4 or 5                |
| reinforcement/binding               |                                    |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 17. covering paperbacks with        | 23%                                |
| plastic laminate                    |                                    |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 18. spine repair, replacement       | 71.5%                              |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 19. end sheet replacement           | 40.6                               |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 20. hinge repair                    | 72.5%                              |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 21. recasing, rebinding (hardcover  | 28.1%                              |
| books)                              |                                    |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 22. page repair (tears)             | 67.7%                              |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 23. page replacement (tip-ins)      | 71.9%                              |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 24. protective enclosures (boxes,   | 34.4%                              |
| slipcases, etc)                     |                                    |
|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 25. other (please describe)         | 9.4% (mostly mylar encapsulation,  |
|                                     | shrink wrapping, resewing          |
|                                     | signatures)                        |
+-------------------------------------+------------------------------------+

Which of the following materials do your staff routinely use for book repair? (check all that apply)

+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| 26. book repair (Demco) tape       | 43.8%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 27. self-adhesive (Scotch) tape    | 21.9%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 28. archival (Filmoplast) tape     | 64.6%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 29. book cloth (buckram)           | 76%                                 |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 30. PVA adhesive                   | 82.3%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 31. methyl cellulose               | 44.8%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 32. wheat paste                    | 46.9%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 33. rubber cement or glue          | 15.6%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 34. hot melt glue                  | 12.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 35. hinge tape (pre-glued, vinyl,  | 37.5%                               |
| paper, or cloth)                   |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 36. tyvek                          | 37.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 37. staples                        | 36.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 38. linen or cotton thread         | 63.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 39. cloth spine liners (super)     | 61.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 40. acid-free papers               | 72.9%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 41. Japanese papers                | 57.3%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 42. heat-set tissue                | 32.3%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 43. binder board or barrier board  | 54.2%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 44. self-adhesive laminating film  | 28.1%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 45. other (examples)               | 15.6% examples include mylar,       |
|                                    | shrink-wrap, bristol board          |
+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

46. Approximately how many repairs per week do your staff perform?

+---------------+-------+
| fewer than    | 50%   |
| 25            |       |
|---------------|-------|
| 25-49         | 17.7% |
|---------------|-------|
| 50-99         | 13.5% |
|---------------|-------|
| 100 or more   | 18.8% |
+---------------+-------+

47. Please estimate length of turnaround time for average item repaired in-house:

+-------------------+-------+
| 1-3 days          | 17.7% |
|-------------------|-------|
| 4-6 days          | 17.7% |
|-------------------|-------|
| 7-10 days         | 17.7% |
|-------------------|-------|
| 11-14 days        | 14.6% |
|-------------------|-------|
| more than 2 weeks | 32.3% |
+-------------------+-------+

48. Do you have a back-log in your repair unit?

+-------+----+
| yes   | no |
|-------|----|
| 66.7% |    |
+-------+----+

49. If yes, please estimate the number of items in the repair back-log:

+---------------+-------+
| fewer than 25 | 22.9% |
|---------------|-------|
| 25-49         | 8.3%  |
|---------------|-------|
| 50-99         | 13.5% |
|---------------|-------|
| 100 or more   | 25%   |
+---------------+-------+

50. Does your library send any books to be repaired outside the library?

+-------+----+
| yes   | no |
|-------|----|
| 83.3% |    |
+-------+----+

If yes, to where: (check all that apply)

+-------------------------------------------------------+-------+
| 51. library bindery (e.g. Heckman, Bridgeport, Acme)  | 79.2% |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-------|
| 52. BookLab or other preservation services provider   | 18.8% |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-------|
| 53. regional or centralized repair                    | 4.2%  |
| center/cooperative                                    |       |
|-------------------------------------------------------|-------|
| 54. private conservator or conservation technician    | 14.6% |
+-------------------------------------------------------+-------+

Which of the following repairs/procedures usually be performed by persons outside the library? (check all that apply)

+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| 55. constructing pamphlet binders  | 13.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 56. sewing/stapling pamphlets into | 5.2%                                |
| binders                            |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 57. paperback                      | 38.5%                               |
| reinforcement/binding              |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 58. covering paperbacks            | 12.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 59. spine repair, replacement      | 11.5%                               |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 60. recasing, rebinding (hardcover | 80.2%                               |
| books)                             |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 61. end sheet replacement          | 9.4%                                |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 62. page repair (tears)            | 4.2%                                |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 63. page replacement (tip-ins)     | 4.2%                                |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 64. protective enclosures (boxes,  | 37.5%                               |
| slipcases)                         |                                     |
|------------------------------------|-------------------------------------|
| 65. other (describe)               | 10.4% mostly preservation           |
|                                    | photocopying, some conservation     |
|                                    | treatment on special items          |
+------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

66. Please indicate your library type:

+-----------------+-------+
| Research        | 13    |
|                 | .5%   |
|-----------------|-------|
| University      | 43    |
|                 | .8%   |
|-----------------|-------|
| College         | 30    |
|                 | .2%   |
|-----------------|-------|
| Public          | 5.2%  |
|-----------------|-------|
| Special         | 7.5%  |
|-----------------|-------|
| Other           |       |
| (specify)       |       |
+-----------------+-------+

67. Please indicate approximate number of monographs in circulating collection:

+-------------------+-------+
| 0-999             |       |
|-------------------|-------|
| 1,000-49,999      | 8.3%  |
|-------------------|-------|
| 50,000-99,999     | 11    |
|                   | .5%   |
|-------------------|-------|
| 100,000-249,999   | 11    |
|                   | .5%   |
|-------------------|-------|
| 250,000-499,999   | 21    |
|                   | .9%   |
|-------------------|-------|
| 500,000-999,999   | 14    |
|                   | .6%   |
|-------------------|-------|
| 1,000,000 or      | 32    |
| more              | .3%   |
+-------------------+-------+

Thank you for your interest in the book repair survey, and thanks again to all those who participated!

Clara Keyes
Camden-Carroll Library
Morehead State University
Morehead, KY 40351
606-783-5122
Fax: 606-783-2799
c.keyes@morehead-st.edu

Notes

*many specified that the book repair unit was part of the preservation dept, so preservation was marked

**other was frequently circulation, serials, or special collections


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