Debate: Should you glue your spine linings or not? That class in Chicago split the room hard.

I took a weeklong workshop at the Chicago Center for Bookbinding and half the class swore by PVA for linings while the other half said it makes the spine too stiff and ruins the joint movement, so which side is actually right and has anyone here ruined a book testing this out?

3 comments

3 Comments

daniel_cooper347d ago

Read somewhere that book conservators rarely glue linings because it transfers stress to the joints and causes cracking over time. Seems like the no glue crew has a solid point for longevity.

iris_schmidt7d ago

Imagine how different materials age though. I've got a 1970s textbook that was bound with a glued lining and it's still perfectly fine, lays flat and everything. Meanwhile I have a 1980s novel with no glue that's falling apart because the paper aged poorly and the casing just detached. Glue might cause stress in some cases but sometimes it's the only thing holding the whole thing together after decades.

stella227d ago

Split the room hard" is exactly what happened in my workshop too. I tried PVA on one book and the spine barely opened at all, so I'm team no glue now. It just depends if you want a stiff textbook or a book that actually lays flat.