•     Must be intact, with no separation on the inside or outside of the book

  Pic 1      Pic 2     Pic 3     Pic 4

If it were me and I had to question it, I would not post. Ask yourself the question, would I want to receive this book? JMHO

The corners seem to be firmly attached so the separation only appears as a gap between the glue and the cover along the spine of the book. It is perfectly readable with no loose pages

IMO... I myself might not post it, but if I received it I wouldn't mark it with a problem.  Could be the person didn't notice, could be they bought it this way (trust me it's possible, I've picked up books with wavy pages, with pages falling out, pages missing and lastly a big fat hole, the about the size of a pencil eraser, in the middle of about 12 pages I now examine books very closely before paying lol), in either case if it is a book you want to read and is readable condition I would just mark it received.  Maybe offer it as an unpostable in the bazaar free with an order.

Just remember every book has to "retire" somewhere....

I kind of agree with Tammy.  Every book has to get to it's last person as a postable at some point. With this one it just might be you. But I don't think it looks bad enough to deny the other person their credit. It's really a judgement call.  I would mark it received w/o a problem, read it, enjoy it and then probably offer it as a freebie. 

If it was myself and I had to question whether it was postable or not then I'd be perfectly happy to receive it. It's only the "without a doubt" ones that I would mark "problem."  If it falls on that gray line then I'm pretty forgiving.

My first thought was that it was acceptable to me but I just questioned if others thought that it was unacceptable. I completely understand that a book does have a lifespan and that it might end with me. But if I haven't actually opened the book and it came to me in an unpostable condition, then the endpoint was actually on person prior (possibly grounds for refunded credit). I've gotten a books that I felt were in postable condition when received and started to appear a little cleaved after I read it. Those books ended with me. This one was received with yesterday's mail and just opened this evening. I personally thought it was in postable condition but wasn't sure what "no separation on the inside or outside of the book" really referred to in the description for binding requirements. The front and back covers are firmly affixed to the book with no separation. That's why it seemed postable to me.

I just wanted to get opinions from others on how they might see it if it was a book they requested. Thanks for the input.

I see that a lot with library books, even when they are fairly new.  to me it looks postable but I could be wrong

TO ME, that is not as big a deal as if the inside part is separating, if that makes any sense.  If you are reading the book and can see the spine, that to me says the book is coming apart and is by definition cleaved.  What I am seeing in your photos I actually see in some new hardcovers and is a little different.  But only you can be the judge as to how durable you think the book is.  If you're looking at it and thinking, ehhhhh, then it's probably best to err on the side of caution and not repost it.  I end up doing that quite a bit, which is kind of frustrating, but I figure it's less frustrating than mailing a book and having a person be unhappy with it's condition.  If it falls in a grey area for me, who would I be to argue if someone else said it fell into a black area?

Rereading your last line, it sounds like it could be the way a book is made. As long as the book is firmly attached to the cover along the front and back, it should be fine. If I hesitate on whether a book is postable or not, I don't post myself.

Some books are bound like this - the pages are bound to a fabric backing, which creates the spine and the cover is bound to the outer pages but not the spine.  If it looks like it was never glued, it probably has this sort of binding.  If you can see glue residue, then it probably did separate, and I wouldn't repost it.

I agree, L.G., it looks like the type of binding that never was attached at the back. I looked at all the pics and that's the type of book it appears to be to me. There is nothing wrong with this book, it is meant to be this way, so that the binding doesn't break. The cover is attached to the book front and back, the pages are all attached, no separation between them and the binding, the type of binding just looks different since we don't see much of them anymore. Someone once posted a really good description with pics that clearly showed the type of binding (and looked a lot like these pics) but I don't remember who it was anymore.

And, even tho PBS doesn't use the word cleaved anymore in the guidelines, as Amanda said, a cleaved spine is on the inside, where the pages are separating from the binding, not the outside, where the cover is separating from the binding.

Thanks you guys. That is exactly what it looks like, how a hardback is bound. I've just never seen it in a paperback and knew you all would have answers.

library books are always a bit different, or at least it seems like it to me!

I looked at your pictures and I wouldn't mind receiving a book like that.  Looks like all the pages are firmly intact, I agree with above posts that say it looks like it was made to be attached that way.  I'd say go with your instincts, but it looks postable to me from the pics.