The Raven Silvers blog

Have you ever borrowed a hardcopy book from the library? If you have, then you know that the dust jacket is always wrapped and secured to the hardcover, uh, cover.  This is so that the dust jacket doesn’t go missing so the book is always easily identifiable, and the dust jacket is protected.

Which is pretty nifty! And I’ve always wanted to do that, but only recently I figured out how it works. You can actually buy the proper supplies from library or archival suppliers like Gaylord or Demco. I don’t have that many hardcover books so it wouldn’t be practical for me.

Or you could go the DIY route and use common items to do it yourself! It will definitely cost you less than ordering supplies and unless you’re really keen on protecting your books in the super long-term, it probably won’t make too much of a difference.

What you need:

• Roll of plastic (the thinner, the better – I’ll explain later)
• Paper – size will depend on how big your book is (also, the thinner the better)
• Sticky tape
• Scissors

I already had all of them, but it should cost you less than $5

Instructions under the jump! Read more →