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Binding and Shelf Preparation

Our Mission

Binding and Shelf Preparation in the Harvard College Library encompasses the purchase of a wide range of commercial library binding services and the preparation of newly cataloged, re-cataloged, and newly bound materials for library use. We are committed to ensuring that items entering the stacks are protected by sound bindings or archival quality enclosures; and that they are clearly, accurately, and thoughtfully marked.

Our Clients

Binding and Shelf Preparation provides services for the array of library units in Widener Library and in HCL Technical Services at 625 Massachusetts Avenue, as well as consulting services for other libraries at Harvard.

Our Services

The Binding and Shelf Preparation staff is an integral part of HCL Conservation Services.

Binding preparation services include:

• assessment of paperback books, unbound serial issues, and other soft-covered materials to select appropriate binding methods
• preparation of specifications for commercial library binding and the construction of protective enclosures for bound volumes, using ABLE (Automated Bindery Library Exchange) to prepare spine labeling, call number formats and binding lot shipments for the commercial binder
• preparation of specifications for the construction of custom enclosures for bound volumes, unbound materials, disks and other non-book media, and items with multiple parts
• evaluation of the quality of commercial library bindings and protective housings
• overall management and item-level tracking of bindery/library transactions
• consulting: advice on assessment of library materials for library binding; use of the ABLE interface; spine labeling materials and methods

Shelf preparation services include preparing material returned from the library binder, as well as other cataloged material not needing binding, for shelving. These services include:

• property stamping on the three exposed edges of the text block
• security stripping
• book plating: Widener Library has an extensive inventory of 1,225 endowed book funds, each with a unique bookplate
• call number labeling
• date stamping
• consulting: advice on all of the services listed above, materials and methods