Conservation covers for brochures and pamphlets

Brochure with thin paper cover

Brochure without cover

Brochure in archival cover

Sewn brochure in archival cover

Besides bound books the Austrian National Library houses numerous brochures and pamphlets. Pamphlets are made of very few pages/sections and usually contain only one section which is sewn, stapled or glued together with a slightly heavier paper cover. These limp bindings without boards were intended as interim covers to allow for a new binding meeting the owner’s taste and requirements.

In earlier years a number of pamphlets from the 18th and 19th centuries  were bound into boards containing ground wood and now need to be replaced by archival covers. Old ground wood boards are already very fragile. The acids produced during the aging of ground wood endanger the pamphlets. The pamphlets are re-sewn in archival covers. These covers are made of two parts: an outer cover with flaps hides the sewing of the inner cover. The lignin-free and buffered archival board protects the pamphlets for long term storage. Handling for readers is more comfortable. The new covers make digitization of limp bindings easier.


last update 12/2/2015