I am an amateur, I am a rank book repair novice, but I have taken a 
basic book repair workshop at NEDCC and I can tell you this:

Plain Scotch tape is absolutely *not* acceptable if this item if this 
item is going to be retained and not immediately put into the 
Dumpster. It is acidic, the adhesive will become brittle over time, 
it will separate from the plastic backing, remain crystalized on the 
paper, and the plastic will physically wear the area around it. And 
it is irreversible.

Filmoplast tape is acceptable for repairs on circulating collections. 
It is a paper tape, fibrous, not plastic, so not as damaging to the 
area around it, and the adhesive is non-acidic (according to them). 
But self-stick adhesive usually fails eventually, and consider it 
unremovable. You can get it from Gaylord, Demco, Univesity Products, 
Talas, Bookmaker's, etc.

A simple, long-lasting, and reversible repair using wheat paste and 
Japanese paper can be done on archival materials. Under the guidance 
of a conservator, of course.

---Amy West

Date:    Tue, 18 Jan 2005 21:47:47 -0600
From:    Lisa Searcy <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: QUERY: Tape on books?
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

I have a general question about book preservation. Can you use tape 
on books? If so, what kind of tape can you use that will not harm the 
book and its paper? Is plain Scotch tape acceptable?
Thank you!
Lisa Searcy
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