I got a book yesterday that I'm not so sure about. It is an older paperback (1984), and it's in questionable condition. Most of the pages seem fine, but the spine is pretty bent, the cover has older packing tape all around the edges (like the owner at some point was trying to preserve the cover and keep it from bending/curling/folding, KWIM?), and the first and last pages are taped in to the book (taped along the edge to the cover. Heck, I think the binding is in pretty questionable shape too--I wouldn't be surprised if pages come loose while I'm reading it.

So, how should I mark this? I would think a book with tape on the cover like this would be unpostable, but I couldn't really find any info on that in the conditions guidelines.

well, I was ok with your description until you mentioned the tape on the first and last page holding it to the cover.  You are dealing with a book that is 28 years old but, it still must meet PBS Posting Guidelines...I'd wait a bit and see what others think but, I'm leaning more towards it shouldn't have been posted.

The tape on the cover isn't a deal...it may have been done to protect the cover, 28 years ago book covers were not so readily available.

I know what you're saying--the aging I expected for the most part, I guess I'm mostly not sure about the tape. I'm leaning towards just marking it received and reading it, but not posting it again.

sometimes you truly are the "end of the road" for a book.  Maybe postable when you got it (barely) but not by the time you're done with it.  It's happened to most of us once in awhile.  Especially with a book that old!

Sara

Christy- 28 years old? If that book was 'born' in 1984, it would only be 24 years old. Stop pushing the clock ahead! I was born in 1985 and I am only 23. :P

Are you sure that it is tape on the cover and not lamination? Some of the UBSs here laminate alot of their paperback covers and some libraries do it too. And the lamination will surely last way longer than the cardstock cover. Bent binding and all, if the pages are still attached to the binding, and the cover is not missing, then the poor old, well loved book sounds like it meets the posting guidelines. Sometimes we are the last stop on the swap train. Other times we get brand new books. In my experience it all equals out and I am always glad to have a book to read.

If the tape was put on to preserve th book (which is what it sounds like) and not repair obvious problems, then I would say it is postable. A book does not have to make it through your reading without falling apart, it just needs to leave the sender's hands in postable condition. If it becomes unpostable while you have it, it has reached the end of its life with you.

It is really hard to say... but it unfortunately sounds like you are just the "end of the line" for this book.  A similar thing happened to me with tape on the spine to reinforce the book.  I used to help out at my old school library and we used clear packing tape to reinforce library book spines (private school Christian school- so they liked to save money).  I also knew people who would do that to their books for the same reason.

Unless the cover was obviously torn and taped back, then I would just mark the book received and not repost it (or post it as a freebie)

Yep, definitely tape on the cover. It's got the jagged edge from the tape cutter on it. And I think it was probably to straighten the edges back out, because the cover definitely has fold marks in it.

I'm just going to mark it as received and this will be the end of the road for it. Thanks for weighing in with your opinions!

That was my first thought: "read and retire".

Yep. Every book eventually gets to it's last person as a postable book and sometimes that might be you (or me).