Polyester film is a very good material for making dust jackets for books. A jacket can be used to protect a book with a deteriorated binding or to keep an intact book in fine condition.
Libraries have used plastic covers to protect the paper dust jackets of circulating books for decades; con- servation suppliers now offer a good assortment of styles that are suitable for use with books of permanent value.
They are made from polyester; some styles are made from polypropylene.
Some jacket covers have a white paper lining; a paper dust jacket is inserted between the white paper and the polyester. A torn paper dust jacket can be kept together without repairing it by putting it carefully into this type of cover. Other styles do not have a lining; the plastic is simply folded around the top and bottom edges of the paper dust jacket.
We give instructions for making two types of jackets that are primarily designed for use on books without paper dust jackets. Two-mil or 3-mil polyester film works well for small books; 4-mil or 5-mil is better for larger books.
Simple Book Jacket
A simple polyester dust jacket can be made in six steps.
1. Cut a piece of polyester the same height as the book by about four times the width.
2. Insert one end of the piece inside the front cover of the book, to measure for the first flap. It should reach to about 1" (2.5 cm) from the inner hinge.
3. With your fingers, crimp the polyester at the edge of the book cover, making a mark at the top and another one at the bottom. Remove the polyester from the book and place it on a soft surface, such as a self-healing cutting mat. Score a line connecting the marks, using the pointed end of a bone folder. Fold the polyester and sharpen the crease with the edge of a bone or Teflon folder.
Note:Polyester scratches easily. Rub through a piece of waste paper placed over the polyester to prevent mar- ring the jacket.
4. With the bone folder, make another set of marks next to the first, the thickness of the board, which will be about ¹⁄₈" (3 mm).
Score the second line and make a second fold, making sure it is parallel to the first (fig. 3-24).
Fit the folded
polyester around the front cover. The parallel folds should keep it firmly anchored to the edge of
the board. Wrap the polyester around the spine snugly.
SIMPLE PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES
Fig. 3-24
5. If the book has a rather squarish spine, the jacket will fit better if the spine is creased.
With your fingers, crimp the polyester at the top and at the bottom to mark the position of the spine (fig. 3-25).
Remove the book from the jacket; crease and fold these two lines.
6. Put the jacket back on the book and close the book; make sure the jacket fits snugly.
Mark the location of the edge of the back cover on the jacket.
Make two folds on the polyester to accommodate the thickness of the board, the same as at the front.
Cut the excess polyester so the back flap comes to about 1"
(2.5 cm) from the inner hinge.
Tape is not needed; the creases at the edges of the boards and the wide inner flaps will keep the jacket from coming off the book.
Some older books have very rounded spines. Do not make folds for the spine on those jackets; skip step 5 and go directly to step 6. Make sure to wrap the polyester around the spine snugly and make the folds for the boards of the book accurately.
Tube Book Jacket
This jacket is made the way children used to make jackets for school books from brown paper. Two-mil or 3-mil polyester is suitable for this jacket. The style is particu- larly useful for books with red rot because it covers the edges of the boards. It can also be made from acid-free wrapping paper or from a decorative paper, if the book needs to be made presentable for an exhibition or other purpose. The jacket is made in ten steps.
1. Measure the book and cut a piece of polyester 2½ times its height by four times its width.
Mark the height of the book at both ends of the poly- ester as shown in figure 3-26. Crimp with your fingers or mark with a thin waterproof marker.
2. Place a long straightedge on one set of marks and score. Repeat with the second set. This defines the out- side panel of the jacket.
3. Crease the flaps down over the outside panel and rub them down with a bone folder through a piece of waste paper, to avoid scratching the polyester. The flaps will overlap on the inside of the jacket (fig. 3-26).
4. Center the book on the folded polyester and wrap the jacket around it snugly.
5. Mark the location of the corners of the covers on the polyester, at the top and at the bottom. Remove the book from the jacket and place the jacket on a soft surface such as a cutting mat, with the inside facing up.
6. Align a straightedge on the marks, score the polyester with a bone folder, crease it, and then rub it down with the bone folder.
7. Make a second set of marks,¹⁄₈" (3 mm) from the first fold. Score and crease another fold, making sure it is parallel to the first fold (fig. 3-27).
Repeat these steps on the other end of the polyester tube.
SIMPLE PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES Fig. 3-25
Fig. 3-26
Fig. 3-27
8. Put the jacket around the book and tuck the flaps in. They should end about 1" (2.5 cm) from the inner hinge; trim if too long. If the jacket fits well, take the flaps out and open the book.
9. Open one flap a little and insert the front board of the book into it. Repeat with the back board.
10. Smooth the polyester around the boards and make sure that the edges fit well into the parallel creases.
If desired, you can put a short strip of double-coated tape on the inside of the book jacket. Open the book, to allow the jacket to move away, and insert the tape near the edge. Remove the paper lining of the tape to fasten the flaps to the inside of the book jacket (fig. 3-28).
With this method, the jacket can slide back and forth as the book is opened and closed but it does not come off. The tape is not in contact with the book cover or the endpapers and there is no danger of adhesive oozing onto the book.
SIMPLE PRESERVATION TECHNIQUES Fig. 3-28