Determination of Material Status
- If the volume is a likely candidate for brittleness, either by appearance or age, determine first which type of test (flex or double-fold) should be administered.
- View NOTIS holdings screen to determine if volume is Rare or valuable.
- Rare or valuable books are never double-fold tested, they are "flexed". As a general rule, limited, numbered, signed or dedicated editions, as well as items printed before 1850 deserve special treatment. In addition, the double-fold test should not be attempted on manuscript material. NOTIS holding locations also denote Rare or LTD materials.
- The double-fold test, also known as the MIT folding endurance test, is somewhat destructive, damaging the corner of a page and risking its loss, and is never performed on the title page, photographs or photographic films, card-board, glossy pages, magnetic media or other non-paper materials.
Notation of Test Results
- Record the results on the brittle book flyer or worksheet.
- Distribute materials as dictated by the test results.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Brittle Books Program Operations and Procedures Manual
REPROGRAPHICS HOME PAGE
For more information or reference assistance contact the Brittle Books Program at
brittle@mail.uflib.ufl.edu.
Last Revised: 1996 December 3
Last Reviewed: 2003 October 17
