Appreciation post: watching a 30 year old library binding finally give up

I pulled apart a 1990s library rebind last week and the text block literally fell into three sections when I opened it. The old polyvinyl acetate had gone brittle and just crumbled after decades on a shelf in Phoenix heat. Have any of you seen a specific adhesive type age worse in your climate?

3 comments

3 Comments

scott.olivia10d ago

Used a PVA revitalizer spray that softened the old glue JUST enough to rebind it.

lee6899d ago

Wait, you used the spray while the book was already falling apart? That sounds risky as hell. I've tried that stuff before on old paperbacks and it turned some pages into a sticky mess. Did you have to clamp it tight for a while or just press it with your hands? Might have to try that trick myself on a beat-up copy I've got sitting around.

phoenix_martin4010d ago

Man, that's rough - Phoenix heat kills everything eventually, I feel your pain.