Lavender shows librarians, archivists, and other book collectors how to accomplish an archivally sound repair with a little practice and forethought.

Introduction to book repair -- Organization of the chapters -- Decisions -- Importance of the item to the collections -- Physical needs of the item -- Desired outcome of this repair -- Resources available for this repair -- Principles of conservation -- Harmlessness -- Durability -- Reversibility -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Resources -- 1. The basics : tools and techniques : what you need and what you need to know -- Bench area -- Lighting -- Tools, supplies, and equipment -- Tools -- Supplies -- Equipment -- Basic structure of common books -- Grain -- Paper -- Boards -- Cloth -- Testing methods -- Dry methods -- Wet methods -- Resources -- 2. Paper cleaning -- Decisions -- Specific factors -- Brushes -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Kneaded erasers and wallpaper cleaner -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Dry cleaning sponge -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Cleaning powders -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Erasers -- Supplies -- Procedure -- Alternative conservation suggestions -- Resources -- 3. Treatment of water-damaged books and papers and removal of mold and mildew -- Treatment of water-damaged books -- Decisions -- Cleaning books -- Drying books -- Saturated books -- Damp books -- Books with only edges wet -- Treatment of water-damaged papers -- Separating papers -- Drying papers -- Removing mold and mildew -- Removal procedures -- Disaster recovery specialists -- Resources.