MAGAZINE BINDERS
One of the vexing questions which properly comes under the head of
binding is that of magazine binders used on current periodicals in
reading rooms. The binding of current numbers for circulation is
described on page 190. It must be admitted that no binder on the market
is perfectly satisfactory. Some hold the periodicals satisfactorily but
are hard to adjust. Others are easy to adjust but the magazines slip out
easily, or can with ease be surreptitiously removed. Some have keys
which become lost or will not work; some are clumsy; and some have
projections which scratch tables. All are hard to hold in the hands. On
an average a new binder is put on the market each year with the
assurance of the maker that all faults have been eliminated. A trial
soon convinces the librarian that it is no better than others and that
the perfect binder does not exist.
For the small library the problem is not an important one, since it is
entirely feasible in such libraries to place current numbers without
covers on reading room tables, or to cover them with tough paper. Mr.
Dana advocates using most magazines without binders even in the reading
room of a large library. Possibly this may be done advantageously in
some libraries, but it will depend upon the atmosphere of the city, the
character of those who use the library and the ease with which
assistants can keep all readers under observation. Librarians for the
most part will continue to believe that a temporary binder of one kind
or another is necessary for current periodicals in the general reading
room.
Binders in the reading room serve two purposes. They protect the
magazine and they help to remind readers that the magazines are public
property. Some magazines--the Scientific American, for example--are very
thin and may be easily folded and put into an inside pocket. A binder
does not prevent theft, but its tendency is to reduce it.
The qualifications of a good binder are:
1. Ease of fastening, together with difficulty in removing magazines by
the uninitiated.
2. Comparative ease of holding in the hand.
3. Durability of surface and of device used for fastening the magazine.
4. Preservation of the magazine without injury.
5. Firmness when finally fastened.
Even the best magazine binders are far from being perfect in any of
these requirements, except in ease with which they are fastened.
There are many kinds of magazine binders. Mr. Dana, in the second
edition of his "Notes on bookbinding for libraries," mentions by name
twelve different makes; and as many more, some of which are equally
good, are known to the writer. But were there twice as many it is
probable that they would fall, as they do now, into five classes.
1. Spring back.
2. Eyelet and tape.
3. Sewed.
4. Rod.
5. Clamp which is screwed up tight.
The well known spring-back variety is, in principle, a semi-circular
steel tube longer than the magazine to be held, to which board sides are
attached. When the cover is closed the jaws of the steel are close
together. In order to insert the magazine the covers are bent back
toward each other. This opens wide the jaws and the magazine is slipped
in. When the covers are released the steel tube is firmly fastened to
the back of the magazine. This kind of binder is probably the easiest of
all to adjust. It is, however, equally easy to remove, is clumsy and is
harder to hold in the hand than others.
In the eyelet and tape class there are holes in the back of the cover.
In fastening the magazine, tape or cord (generally a shoe string) is
passed through the center of the magazine, laced into the eyelet and
tied. The main objections to this kind of a binder are that it takes
some time to fasten them and the magazine is generally loose in the
binder when fastened.
Binders which require sewing have holes in the sides near the back.
Instead, however, of passing the cord through the center of the
magazine, holes corresponding to holes in the binder are punched
directly through the magazine at the back, one near the head, one near
the tail and another in the middle. The binder is then sewed on through
these holes. The chief merit of these binders is that they are
inexpensive; but it takes longer to attach them than other binders and
the magazine is injured by the holes which have been punched.
There are various kinds of binders which use steel rods or bars through
the center of the magazine. Some use one rather heavy rod which is
hinged at one end, and hooked or fastened into a slot at the other end
when the magazine has been inserted. Some have two or more thin steel
rods hinged or pivoted at one end and held by a pin or a lock at the
other end. And one at least has steel bars not permanently attached, the
ends of which are in the form of a semi-circle, which are dropped
between rigid uprights and prevented from slipping off by caps screwed
on the uprights.
The writer knows of only two binders which use a clamp which must be
screwed tightly in order to hold the magazine firmly. The great merit of
these binders is that they hold the magazine firmly, so that it can by
no possibility be removed except by the assistant who has the key. They
are, however, clumsy and unduly large at the back and it takes some time
to fasten them to the magazine.
Taking into consideration all points of excellence it is probable that
some form of rod binder is the best. Rod binders are not hard to apply;
they require some effort to remove them--those which lock cannot be
removed without a key; they are firm when applied; and many of them do
not injure the magazine. Nearly every librarian has his own personal
preference among such binders.
Since binders receive very hard wear it is important that they should be
made of good material. Those which are used for popular magazines should
have cowhide backs and buckram or imitation leather (keratol or
fabrikoid) sides. A full leather binding would help solve the question
of dirt, but it is equally well and less expensively solved by using
imitation leather on the side. In reading rooms frequented only by
educated persons binders with flexible leather covers are desirable and
are greatly enjoyed by readers. The cheaper grades of cloth, such as are
used by the publishers, should never be used, as they soon wear through
at the edges and corners. In many cases it is wise to use pigskin or
morocco on the back, though if this is done, the cloth sides and the
boards themselves may become disreputable before the back is worn. In
nearly all binders the mechanism can be removed from the boards when
they become shabby, and new covers attached. This will save some of the
expense of a new binder. A clever mender can do such work so that it
need not be sent to a regular library binder. The boards should not be
made of mill boards, but of semi-tar or tar boards.