Care and Repairs for Standard Hardcovers

Many of us have personal libraries, and within those libraries the chance that we own a standard hardcover book is high. Modern case bindings (also known as hardcovers) are everywhere. These bindings are constructed from paper boards covered by a sturdy cloth or decorated paper, and the cover is generally

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#ColorOurCollections Wrap-Up

#ColorOurCollections has come and gone, but luckily the links to the coloring pages in our original post will remain, so if you feel like coloring, please make use of them. We’re always excited to see your artistic takes on our collection items. Hopefully this project will continue next year –

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Bookbinding with the Girl Scouts

Recently the Bookbinders Museum was approached by local Girl Scout troop 33239 who were planning activities around their Book Artist badge. Librarian, Amelia Grounds, visited the troop and showed various aspects of bookbinding and book construction. Here, she recounts the day’s activities. I enjoy any opportunity to talk about bookbinding

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Hand Bookbinders of California 43rd Members Exhibition

The American Bookbinders Museum is pleased announce that we will be hosting the Hand Bookbinders of California’s 43rd Annual Members’ Exhibition this summer from June 12 – September 13, 2015. This will be ABM’s first exhibition in our newly remodeled facility!  We hope, it will be the first of many

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Answers to the ABM Bookbinding Tools Trivia Contest!

The American Bookbinders Museum was thrilled to participate in the Antiquarian Book Fair in Oakland last weekend. We met so many lovely people, and were excited for the opportunity to talk about the museum and bookbinding with such a wide audience. Our bookbinding tools trivia contest was a hit both

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Books on books on books : An interview with librarian Amelia Grounds

Further rounding out the ABM staff is librarian and preservationist Amelia Grounds. Amelia has worked with rare books and special collections across the Bay, with UC Berkeley’s Preservation Department, and across the pond, where she earned her degree in Library and Information Science from University College London. With training and experience

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Saturday’s Bookbinding Tutorial

This past saturday we held our first bookbinding tutorial here at the museum.  4 of our volunteers came out and learned how to do a simple pamphlet stitch as well as the more complex sewing over tapes with a french fold, then casing into a hard cover.  Since one of

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Why A Museum to American Bookbinding?

The American Bookbinder’s Museum There is nothing quite like the feeling of an old book in your hands, the smell of the yellowed pages hitting you as you open it.  As you get comfortable and settle in to spending some time with this remarkable object, you may wonder at how

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