American Library Association Report on Binding Services for Print

Core, a division of the American Library Association, has released the 2022 Core Library Binding Survey: A Report of Findings.

It is based on a survey on current library binding practices in the United States.

The survey was conducted to gain a better understanding of who is using library binding as a preservation and access method, how they are using such services, and the challenges that face the community.

There were responses from 94 institutions, most of them academic.

Questions included:

• To whom does your bindery unit report?
• What did you spend on library binding for each of the fiscal years below, NOT including staffing?
• How many items did you send to the library binder in each of these fiscal years? (2018 to 2022)
• What percentage of your current library binding program is made up of each of the following material types? (e.g. monographs, government docs, etc.)
• If your institution has off site storage, do you regularly bind items going directly to storage from acquisition?
• What type of library binder do you use?
• etc.