How best to Certify that bindings meet the specifications of the LBI Standard.

For many years the familiar seal of the Library Binding Institute meant that library binding manufactured by a member of the LBI was certified by the trade association to meet the specifications of the Library Binding Institute Standard for Library Binding. A formal program of plant inspections by recognized experts and a thorough checklist of mandatory binding techniques allowed the organization to police its members. Baseline quality and adherence to the specifications that the industry and the marketplace had established were monitored by this program.

For thirty years a succession of plant inspectors did their best to cover the wide sweep of the LBI's diverse membership. Keep in mind that the LBI has 34 certified members (two with multiple plants), including 32 in the United States and two in Canada. Plants were scheduled to be inspected at least once every two years. Objective criteria were focused on rather than subjective. Adherence to materials specifications and technical specifications were of primary concern. A written report would normally be sent to the binder and to the LBI office. If any shortcomings were discovered, the LBI inspector would try to help the binder to improve weaknesses. In extreme cases, a binder might be asked to resign from the LBI, if problems could not be resolved. I do not believe that this actually ever happened, although I have heard stories of some eleventh hour clemency.

In the last ten years, the LBI plant inspection and certification process has faced many unavoidable dilemmas. Inspectors were asked to do the impossible. Make a scheduled visit to a bindery, which may be in a remote location. Be a guest of the proprietors of the bindery--sometimes a house guest and always a lunch or dinner guest. Judge the overall quality of the workmanship and the skill of the staff based upon a one or two hour guided tour through the bindery. Remain objective.

The heart of the dilemma was that objective evaluation of a binder's adherence to the LBI Standard requires three essential ingredients.

1. The inspection must take place on a regular schedule, but the exact date should not be set far in advance. Some element of surprise is necessary.

2. The inspector must be respected, available, affordable, and willing to report sub-standard work.

3. The trade association's members and their customers must place a high value on certification to make the program work.

The Achilles' heal of the LBI plant inspection and certification program was its tremendous success in prior years. LBI Certification has proven to be so important to the success of library binders, that roughly 90% of the industry's output comes from LBI member companies.

Unfortunately, recent years have seen interest in the program wane. The logistical difficulty of finding qualified, impartial inspectors to evaluate so many far-flung factories has been immense. Rather than pretend that plant inspection and certification is a real activity that librarians can rely upon, the LBI discontinued the program in 19??. As a substitute the LBI book examination service was designated as the mechanism for evaluating quality and adherence to the LBI Standard. Any library can send volumes to the LBI's office and receive a written evaluation of those volumes. This report includes a checklist of materials and processes required for LBI Standard binding. Volumes either pass muster or they do not. The consumer is in control of the timing and the customer gets first hand verification that their binder is complying with the specifications of the LBI Standard.

Some binders and librarians would like to see more teeth put back into the LBI inspection and certification program. One approach is to take the best of both methods:

1. Regularly scheduled inspections of LBI binder's products, and

2. Randomly selected volumes tested at the customers discretion without the knowledge of the binder.

A new inspection and certification program might work as follows:

Each year, all LBI member binderies would be required to submit a list of three customers that would be willing to send three randomly selected volumes to the LBI office for evaluation. These volumes would be chosen from the most recent shipment and they should all be volumes that are warranted by the binder as meeting the specifications of the LBI Standard. The LBI office would contact one of these three customers sometime every other year (or perhaps every year) and request that the volumes be sent for testing. A copy of the report would be sent to the binder and to the library. A random testing program would, in theory, keep everyone honest and provide the assurance of Certified quality binding that many expect when they see the seal of the LBI on a binder's invoice.

This program would enable the binders to live with the same discipline that they had in past years. In the event that the one bad volume that we all bind (on rare occasions) happened to be tested, the LBI office could request one of the other designated libraries to send in volumes for evaluation. If a binder appeared to have a major problem, a plant inspection would be required. This program should be fair, inexpensive and mutually beneficial to binder and library. Adherence to quality standards is necessary for fair competition but standards have no meaning if no one objectively grades performance.

Although the marketplace and the consumer are the ultimate judges of individual binders and the quality of their products and services, the LBI seal certifies a high plateau of quality that must have meaning. Past inspection and certification programs have proven their worth. As our trade association ponders whether or not to reinvigorate this practise with today's practical considerations accounted for, it is appropriate that we do not promise more than we can deliver. On the other hand, it is perhaps the obligation of the LBI that we both maintain high-quality standards and provide assurances that our member binders do deliver products that meet that test. Our industry is comprised of many fine companies that care about quality. We all have much to gain by formalizing our commitment to quality and LBI Certification.

Since the member binders are paying for the inspection through their dues, it is only natural that they would want to learn from the inspector some of the tricks learned.

Paul Parisi, President
Acme Bookbinding

From: The New Library Scene
Vol. 10, No. 5, Oct. 1991