Clues to Collecting #4

Question: I've been collecting series books in a kind of haphazard way for a few years (mostly just reading copies of series I like), so I don't often bother looking for dust jackets. however, I have a fairly nice dust jacket of a Marjorie Dean book, but a wedge has torn away from the top of the dj spine. assuming I get a protective cover for it, how would you go about reattaching a broken piece of dj? or would you give it up as lost? I'm just assuming that tape is the collector's enemy... thanks, and love the blog!

Answer: I only throw away a piece of a dust jacket when the piece is tiny, such as less than around an 1/8 inch square piece.

In most cases, detached pieces can be placed in the mylar cover so that they will stay in place once the cover is folded shut and placed on the book.

Companies such as Demco do sell archival tape, which is expensive. Some collectors frown upon the use of any type of tape, including archival tape. I have used archival tape for serious problems, such as when a page from the book is ripped into two pieces. ................................

Question: Where do you buy archival tape? Would you recommend that for repairing book spines?

Answer: Demco has archival tape:

Filmoplast Mending Tape

It is expensive, but I have been using the same roll for around 9 years. It lasts a long time.

I only use it on the reverse side of dust jackets and usually for very serious problems. I don't think it could be used to repair the spines of books.

I have never bought archival products for book repair, but Demco has several products that could work for binding and other types of repairs:

Demco NeutralBond Modified Vinyl Adhesive

Systematic Archival Glue Pen ................................

Question: Wondering... I found your site thru a librarian -- no Sue Barton? I collect her, wondering why she is excluded? 

Answer: My site represents what I have collected and read to the present time. Right now, I do not own any Sue Barton books.

My primary current interest is in Stratemeyer Syndicate series books that were published prior to 1930. I may eventually get around to Sue Barton. What I buy and collect is constantly evolving.

While my site is intended as a reference site, it is beyond my capability to cover every series ever published. There are hundreds of them. All that I can do is cover the ones that I have collected and read. Go to these two sites to see what I mean:

Girls Series Checklist

Mary Crosson's List