Monday, April 14, 2008

Using the Bibles we have

Bible Design & Binding provides a brief explanation of how good, durable books are bound — and why most books aren't bound that way, including many Bibles [I've added emphasis to the quotation]:
The more you understand about the way books are made today, the more you appreciate the challenges faced by any publisher hoping to (a) produce quality bindings, and (b) stay in business. The sad fact is, a lower quality product doesn't necessarily disappoint consumers, because most of them aren't going to notice. As Parisi notes, "...bad binding structure does not become apparent until the book has been used many times and has failed." A poorly bound Bible is only a problem if it's going to be "used many times," the way a library book is. My guess is that, if consumers used their Bibles often enough for the disadvantages of adhesive bindings to become apparent, publishers would find a way to sew them all, just to avoid the complaints. But if consumers don't complain...
I feel the need, now, to confess that I haven't used my glued Bibles often enough for their disadvantages to become apparent.

Bible Design and Binding: Binding Boot Camp: Some Basics from Acme Bookbinding

3 comments:

  1. Interesting material! For me, though, I collect Bibles (and use them) so each Bible doesn't get as much wear as if I were to use only one. So I'd rather pay less and have than have a more expensive binding. In fact, many of the Bibles I use are paperback and I put them in a Bible cover to protect them. Thanks for the link.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I occasionally have to clear out some memory in my PDA to open up my Bible.

    But I haven't had any pages fall out yet, unless the entire memory card gets popped out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a Bible on my computer [I haven't reached a pda stage yet] and I use it for all sorts of things - the printed concordance is a thing of the past, and it is ridiculously easy to search for and find things - but I still prefer to read from a book.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are moderated. I will gladly approve any comment that responds directly and politely to what has been posted.