A talk with a librarian about my 'perfect' bindings changed my mind

I was showing a friend who works at the city library some of my recent projects, feeling pretty good about my tight, clean case bindings. She picked one up, opened it, and said, 'It's lovely, but it feels like it's fighting me.' She explained that library books need to open flat easily, without strain on the spine, so people can read them without holding the covers down. I had always focused on making books look neat and stay closed, but she said for real use, the binding should help the book live. It hit different because she wasn't talking about craft, she was talking about function for readers. Now I'm rethinking my whole approach to spine flexibility and rounding. For those who bind books meant to be used hard, not just sit on a shelf, how do you balance durability with that easy open?

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