In addition to general office supplies–permanent markers, a stapler, scissors, post-its, paper–you may want to collect a few library-specific supplies for your library. You don’t have to buy any of these things to start a library, but some of these supplies can be quite handy.

• Book jacket covers. These, often called Mylar covers or just plastic covers, come in all sorts of sizes and configurations. You can get them in 8″ to 14″ to conform to the height of your books, and the width can also vary. You can also order the cover material on a roll, which is an initial investment but cheaper in the long run. (No, you don’t have to keep the book jackets on books that come with them, but see our upcoming article on “what are book jackets good for?” before you toss them.)
• Bone folder tool. I have one, but I mostly use my fingernails to smooth down creases in the plastic book jacket covers. You can do the same or get fancy with a bone folder.
• Book tape. Most of the librarians I surveyed use Scotch (3M) 845 Book Tape for page repair and for covering labels and simple tape repairs. It’s heavier than regular packing tape and better for books. This tape is not supposed to become brittle and ugly over time, but it’s not technically acid free. I’ve not had any trouble with the Scotch Book Tape. Librarian K.T. says, “I use Brodart brand of clear book tape, which is comparable to the 3M but come in a wider range of sizes.” For more information about different types of book repair tape.
• Book glue. Lots of brands. Just search for acid-free book binding glue. Demco has Norbond and Brodart sells Bind-art. It comes in gallon jugs and in two ounce bottles. You probably just want the two ounce bottle. You can use this glue to affix loose pages or to glue paperbacks back together.
• Rubbing alcohol and cotton balls or swabs or even paper towels. For cleaning book covers and removing sticky stuff. Some people also use a hair dryer to melt away the sticky.
• Un-du Original Formula Sticker, Tape and Label Remover (Cannot Be Sold in California) If the alcohol doesn’t do the job, this works better than anything else to remove stickers and other adhesives from used books, or even new books that have a price sticker.
• Label and sticker removers (scrapers). I confess that I have also been using fingernails (and anything else that was handy) for this task, but I just ordered this handy-dandy set of “peelers” –for the sake of efficiency and to save my nails.
• Filmoplast transparent paper mending tape. I was recently introduced to this acid-free, light weight, almost invisible, paper tape, used for repairing torn pages. It’s made in Germany, and I love it. Thank you, Sarah Kim of Biblioguides for recommending, and thanks to the Germans.
• White paper hinge tape. At Brodart, it’s called Tyvek hinge tape. This adhesive paper tape is for mending hinges on the inside front or back cover (or in the middle) that have split or broken completely. Other people use cloth tape, either single stitched or double stitched.

There are all sorts of other supplies you can buy, but these are the basics. The three big library supply companies are Demco, Brodart, and The Library Store. Go to one of these three for a variety of library supplies, furniture, and do-dads, but be aware that library supply companies cater to large libraries and library systems and are not always the most inexpensive sources for library supplies. You can often find the same items for less at a discount store like Walmart or at an office supply store or on Amazon.

For more information on book repair, you can purchase this Book Hospital video from Living Books Library.

This post is part of our Ask The Librarian series, a Card Catalog Project. You can find more like this here. And, we would love to connect with you! You can find us on Facebook here.