Open Forum Column in TNLS

Quality is a word that we all hear bandied about these days. Quality is a popular subject for speakers, authors, and consultants. There is Quality Control, Quality Team and even Quality Time. Some have it and others are in pursuit of it. Quality as we all know is not a new concept. Furthermore it is not something that you can achieve by attending a lecture, reading a book, or hiring a specialist.

As a new parent, I spend a lot of time reflecting on the common sense advice that my parents drummed in to me when I was a child. Keep in mind that I was raised in a close-knit family that was struggling to make a living by operating a library binding company. They used to say: "if a job is worth doing, it is worth doing well" and "no job is too small to deserve less than your best effort" and "if you have the time to do a job over, you have the time to do the job properly the first time". One of the lessons I learned was that consistent Quality takes a special combination of hard work, fierce pride, and an occasional splash of ingenuity. Thomas Edison once said that "Genius is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration." Quality is no different.

My ramblings about Quality are not without focus. Quality is made possible by an environment that recognizes, respects, and rewards excellence. I believe that the Library Binding Institute is the ideal tool for binders, librarians, and all those who care about quality library binding to create such an environment. Apparently I am not alone in this belief. At the LBI's most recent meeting, our Fall Technology Workshop, we had a record attendance and a resurgence of active participation by our members.

At that meeting we downsized our LBI government by dropping two board of directors positions. We reduced the bureaucracy by eliminating our Executive Committee. We agreed to develop a more equitable dues structure to be presented to the general membership and voted on at our spring meeting. We agreed to study the options for an industry-wide quality control program as one of the LBI's Certification requirements and to vote on the proposal in the spring. We agreed to formalize an annual survey of the membership to get a better focus on the needs of our members. We voted to change the editorial policy of The New Library Scene to include an Open Forum Column where new ideas can be presented and challenged.

At the heart of this flurry of activity and involvement was a letter writing campaign initiated by two loyal LBI members, Jim Orr and Mel Kavin. This campaign unleashed an outpouring of support by the members for our executive director, Sally Grauer. Early this year Sally had offered her resignation, so that she could relocate nearer to her children and grandchildren. The many letters written to Sally made it clear to her that the LBI had become a part of her family. The location of the LBI office is not important, the commitment to Quality that LBI embodies is what counts. It came as no surprise when the LBI Board of Directors voted to renew Sally Grauer's contract as our Executive Director and to move the LBI office to Minneapolis.

Much as the first day of our Fall Meeting was a harbinger of the new sense of commitment to the LBI, the main program surpassed all expectations. Our program committee had scheduled an ambitious agenda that would attempt to establish unemotional dialogue to resolve some of the issues raised in the Guide to the Library Binding Institute Standard for Library Binding. Fourteen presenters addressed topics including:

• PVA versus animal (protein) glue for case making
• Library corners versus cut corners for case making
• Cords versus other forms of head and tail case reinforcement
• Wide-hinge case construction
• The merits of rounding and backing
• The merits of flat back binding
• Flush bottom case construction
• Spine notching for double-fan adhesive binding
• Alternative covering materials

Obviously we did not resolve all of these issues during our sessions but we did have lively discussions that raised some doubts and opened some eyes. Perhaps we will have articles submitted to our new Open Forum Column that address the pros and cons of these issues. All of the topics presented were prioritized by the audience in terms of what needs to be tested because it affects quality and what is strictly aesthetic. One of the highlights of the day was a fun-filled opening song that Jim Larsen and the R & B's (his background chorus) began our afternoon session with.

In keeping with our Technology Workshop theme, The Flesher Corporation gave a demonstration of its new cover stamping machine, the System 3, at the General Bookbinding Company. Not to be outdone the Crawford Bindery hosted a supplier's fair and a series of guided bindery tours through their plant. Crawford employees and management proudly showed off their facility and openly sought suggestions from their guests as to how they might improve quality and efficiency. The LBI members were all open-mouthed when they were greeted at the Crawford Bindery by the xxxxx cheerleaders and marching band. The spirit of this meeting will be impossible to surpass.

The LBI and its members are getting serious about Quality. I believe that the membership and the leadership of our trade association are both prepared to provide the 90% perspiration necessary to reinvigorate the LBI. The 10% inspiration hopefully will come through our new Open Forum Column in The New Library Scene. Any binding or preservation related topic is fair game. Although the magazine does not accept advertisements that promote individual binderies or their products, a much wider latitude of subjects is now possible. Questions, problems, and burning issues are all welcome and encouraged. Sound ideas will survive debate and others will be revealed as suspect. The purpose of the Open Forum Column is to give new or novel ideas a chance to be evaluated in theory by a broad audience before they are evaluated on the shelves of an individual's library.

The staff and leadership of the Library Binding Institute are working hard to capitalize on this spirit of enthusiasm. New committees have been formed including a research and testing committee (to follow up on the presentations made at the Fall Meeting), a dues structure committee, a Quality Certification committee, and an LBI/NISO Standards Committee. Join the bandwagon and get involved.

Paul Parisi, President
Acme Bookbinding

This article first appeared in: The New Library Scene
Vol. 10, No. 6, Dec. 1991