Hi All, 

Could you please advise on if this is a RWAP or not. I feel like I lean to the side of "retiring" a book more often than not so I don't ruffle any feathers but just wanted to check on this one because I am really not sure. 

http://s1044.photobucket.com/albums/b444/omalleym04/PBS%20Book%20-%20Merlot%20Murders/ 

Thanks for your input! 

Meghan

I would definitly classify that book as a cleaved spine, and mark it as RWAP.  It would be at your discretion whether or not to ask for a credit back.

Is there a specifi part of the Help Doc's that state "no cleaved spines"?  I'm not trying to be difficult, I am just trying to clarify for myself. I know the pages must all be attached to the spine - which in this case it is.....

Wanted to add that, while I don't know  if this is a RWAP, I would definitely retire that book - since my personal posting guidelines, as well as including all of the PBS guidelines, aslo have an additional requirement - if I wouldn't be happy to receive a book in this condition. then I won't send it.

Cleaved spines are not by definition no postable. The term was removed from the Help Center long ago because people define cleaved spines differently; I consider a spine cleaved only once the book is in 2 pieces so I personally wouldn't define that book as cleaved.

A picture can't really determine postability or not, but IMO that this book falls in the area where the Team says they are postable. It looks like all pages are still firmly intact and not at risk of falling out in the next read or two. A book CAN have pinhole cracks, it CAN open to one page, which is what this book looks like to me.

Here is what the Team had to say when asked:

Kim H. (rubberducky)     Date Posted: 1/27/2009 7:49 PM ET Member Since: 8/9/2007 Posts: 4,058 Back To Top

Okay... so I sent a clarification request to the PBS Team, and this is what I got back: Dear Kim, We would not consider a pinhole to be a cleaved spine. Books that fall open to a specific page are postable, and almost every paperback book that does that has at least some small separations. What matters here is if the pages are securely attached. If they are likely to fall out on the next reading, then the book should not be posted. We really cannot clarify this any further. We need members to use their common sense and best judgment about whether a book is about to fall apart or not. This is just not something we can judge without having the books in our hands. So I gather that pinholes & cracks in the binding are acceptable as long as the pages are securely attached, and don't look to be tearing loose along any of those perforations. As with most of the rules, common sense is key. I think I would take some extra care when packing books like this to ship, just because they could pull loose with any kind of rough handling - such as the USPS manglers so frequently dish out to our poor, defenseless books:P Anyhoo, hope this is helpful to everyone:)

 here is the original thread it is from http://www.paperbackswap.com/What-Cleaved-Spine/topic/150725/

Thanks for the help! I was not sure how to mark it since the pages still did seem to be attached. I will mark it received but I will add it to the pile of books that I have retired. 

Yeah, I agree, I probably would not have marked it RWAP, either. But I also wouldn't send one out like that.

That's what I would have done too Meghan, its sad that sometimes we have higher standards for sending than we have for receiving and end up with a stack of books like that.

Sometimes I will attempt to repair the binding if it isn't too far gone. I do it before I read the book and if the repair holds up while I am reading it, then I might consider swapping it back out. I use a low heat, no steam iron on them. I firmly hold the book closed and cover it with a light weight towel. Rub the iron back and forth on the spine until it get good and heated, then massage the spine of the book thouroughly to work the warmed glue around. Repeat that a few times and then leave the book closed with something heavy on it while it cools for at least a few days. Often times when I open it again the separation is closed and on a few of them it has held up thorugh my reading it and sitting on my shelf for over a year.

That's a wonderful book repair tip Melanie!  Have  you ever tried it on hardbacks?  Or will it only work on paperbacks?  Never tried repairing a book myself so I will admit I'm totally and completely clueless in this area. 

I have only tried it on paperbacks Alisa, never tried on hardcovers as they don't seem to have quite the glue block on them that paperbacks do and I don't recall having one splitting in the same manner. Since the book is already damaged I would think it wouldn't hurt to try it on a hard cover. You may just need to use a little higher heat to get through the cover and do it a few more times to work the glue around.

Melanie - thanks for the book repair instructions. I will definitely try that. 

wont work on hardbacks, the binding technique used is different.  You can also try putting a tiny line of glue where the spine paper is showing, close the book, secure under a few heavy books, wait a day and it should be ok.