HIT: Bound to Stay Bound

[Patricia Melville <3tunas@vgernet.net>]

Greetings and sorry for the delay on a hit.  Cynthia's post prodded me
on. People who like bound to stay bound seem to LOVE bound to stay
bound. It waS hard to make a hit from so many replies so I tried to
whittle it down to useful comments but believe me, many people were
just plain passionate about these books!  Also the *lurking* vendor
and I had communication. When I asked about paper quality because I
always associate Econoclad and permabound with mass-market quality
yellowing paper inside  he assured me that BtostayB only bind the
hardcover high quality contents except in unusual cases like
Goosebumps)  Anyway, the hit follows - and thanks all for the
comments. It REALLY helps when making decisions.
*********
Nothing beats Bound to Stay Bound.  Follett is poor compared to them.
I
use Follett only for those items that I cannot get from BTSB.  Picture
books in particular are purchased from BTSB.
*********
Absolutely, Bound to Stay Bound books are the best! If I could get all
the titles I needed, I would never order from another vendor.
********
 prices and especially the binding for BTSB is unbeatable.
*********
I started a K-5 library with BTSB books in the E, F and B
categories as my core collection, and used Permabound and
Steck-Vaughn primarily as my nonfiction collection. Hands
down, the BTSB books (although circulated much more) held
together and required much less repair and maintenance. We
washed soiled books frequently, and they really held up to
the abuse. If I ever go back to elementary ;), I hope I go
somewhere the librarian had the sense to order an entire
collection of BTSB books!!! Hope this helps!
**********
Yes, our district has been getting them for over 20 yrs. and they ar
durable.Sometimes the covers get dirty.   But the binding is
excellent.
*********
 My problem with BTSB is that their covers are so colorless and
boring. They will place the real
book covers on their books if you request it and I would highly
recommend it; otherwise you will end with a pastel boring library like
two of my elementary schools. To the company's credit, they do replace
the books if something happens to the binding and they so catalog the
books nicely. I always say, "Yes, the books will last for long past my
death but for most of titles, who care?" Kids need fresh new books
that change. I've never had a problem with Follett books falling
apart, but they are not at all prompt in getting orders to you. I've
sent purchase orders in March and not received shipment until July.
This is unacceptable to me.
***********
Bound to Stay Bound books last longer that the paper in the books.  We
have books I have had to discard because the pages are disintegrating,
but the covers are still fine.
**********
 Working with K-2 for 7 years I
never had a BTSB book come unbound.  They hold up better than any
other binding I have used.  You can also clean covers on them better
than those of other vendors because they are more solid.  Another plus
with BTSB is that they will hot-stamp call numbers on the spines and
they will NEVER come off.  I loved it escpecially with my little ones.
**********
 I am more familiar with Perma-Bound. They are really tough. PLUS if
one ever fails, simply give them a call, tell them
the title and another is on its way -- no P.O. copies, xerox of title
page or any other hassle.
********
 One of our problems was the wear and tear on picture book
covers (we are a K-2 school, so almost everything is a picture book!).
The spine and corners of the cover would get so badly damaged that the
books had to be withdrawn from circulation.  BTSB are much more
durable.  The only drawback is the covers tend to "fade" a bit when
they are wiped off.  I consider this a small tradeoff for books that
look new longer AND keep all of their pages!
**********
The kids will choose one of these books over others because of the
moreattractive cover they have.
**********
 The only concern I have about them is that sometimes they do
not open very easily (the binding is so tight).  I don't expect to be
able to put books out flat, but sometimes the longer books are a
little "stiff."  We order lots of books from them.
***********
The Kansas City Kansas Public School libraries use Bound  to Stay
Bound (BTSB) almost exclusively in the elementary libraries.  And yes
they stay bound!  We do not have a budget for rebinding old books.  I
sometimes purchase other books from Baker & Taylor and Follett that
are Library Bound.  I either discard or have to rebind these books
after 30 to 50 check outs.  The BTSB books last many times that long.
BTSB sends us a preview in the Fall and another one in the Spring.  It
isgreat to view the bpooks before we buy.
***********
 The covers are made of cotton buckram and are very tough. The other
thing I like is that if a book gets dirty from grubby little fingers,
you can wipe them clean with a baby wipe. If you use the wipe gently
you don't lose much of the cover art. We get very prompt and courteous
service and have also been able to tour the plant since we are only a
little more than an hour away.
In my opinion, no other books stand up to small children as well.
************
, Bound to Stay Bound books NEVER fall apart.  BUT!!!! they just
get uglier by the day.  I like to call them Bound to Stay Ugly.  They
come washed out and dull from the bindery, and they get uglier with
each check out.  You can't wash them successfully.  Believe me, I've
tried. Since they won't fall apart, wear out, etc., you can never
discard one.Your shelves just look worse and worse as the years go on.
     Follette library bound isn't much better than trade bindings.  I
always try to buy Follette Turtle bound--at least they are guaranteed.
You have to send the failed book back to them.
     Perma-bound has the best deal on bindings.  They look great when
they are new, and they look good for a long time.  If for any reason
you get unhappy with a Perma-bound book, just call them, tell them,
and in a few days you'll have a brand new one.  You do not have to
send back the failed one.  I try to tell them the PO# or the invoice
number of the failed book, but if the book is so old that I don't have
that, they don't insist.   Also, you'll probably get about a 24%
discount on all Perma-bound orders.  There is no discount with Bound
to Stay Ug (oops...) Bound or Follette.
**********
 I also get some from Econo-Clad. Then any other will do if it is not
available from mmy big three. I buy from Children's Press - they are
pretty good as is Lerner Muscle Bound.
**********
 You can wash the covers with 409 and
the only thing that will damage them is a dog chewing it up.  I get
everything I can from them and use Follett as the source for what I
can't. My Follett books don't last anywhere close to the ones from
BTSB.
***********
 I ordered from Follett the first year I was at this
school and the binding was so poor that I swore I would never order
from them again.  This year, a salesman promised me that their binding
had changed and was good, so I took a chance and ordered about 10
books from them--UGH, I had to cover them with contact paper before I
could put them out because the covers were so poor.  Never again.  I
highly recommend Bound to Stay Bound.  You will never be disappointed.
************
I've been in a K-3 setting 15 years and BTSB can't be beat for books
that get a **lot** of use.
********
 In a large elementary, there is no other wise
choice! True, there are other sources with prettier pictures on the
cover.  However, we all know all the sayings about "beauty is only
skin deep" and the like.
*******
I don't know about Bound to Stay Bound but I do know that PermaBound
books are
guaranteed *forever* --- literally :)  I like dealing with them a lot.
**********
 I am always amazed that they still look like new after
the year's heavy circulation. I get laminated covers attached to the
books. When the laminated cover wears out, and not one from the past
four years' nominees has even ripped slightly, underneath the heavy
duty cover
there is a "blurb" on the back, and the original cover sort of
photocopied to the front so still very attractive. I placed an order
today for the Bluebonnet nominees and the recent award book. The life
of these books is truly astounding! )Don't tell the publishers :) .
Disk available with full MARC record, also.
*********
BTSB are practically ironclad!  The only thing I don't like about them
is how much they are trimmed all around, and deep into the gutter for
the company to work its magic.  They are really, really rebound.  I
heard (famous author) speak once at a non-children's event (an art
student group) and he doesn't like what BTSB does to the integrity of
the page as he designs it. He said that if he wanted the page to be
smaller he would have made it smaller.  Nevertheless, they last
forever, but are also most expensive of all choices.
***********
 Another plus
is that they use hardbound printings rather than paperback printings
as Perma-Bound does.  One drawback is that they do some cutting down
on the books so the dust jackets are always a bit longer than the
cover.  For picture books I would order from Permabound or BTSB, but
for fiction it's definitely BTSB.
*******
 I bought the entire collection
for my new elementary school library in 1995 and 90% of it is from
BTSB.  Definitely worth it.
*******
 I use it mostly for K-1 books and stuff like the Berenstain Bears
and Dr Seuss, Caldecotts, etc.
********
  They also
ship free and will do any kind of processing at a modest charge.  Of
course you just insert the disk to import the records to your system.
**********
 For an elementary
library they are a necessity I think. They don't cost any more plus
they send you free bar codes, MARC records on disk and no shipping and
handling. They have been very quick about filling my orders 2-3 weeks
for most books. I am very partial to them.
*********
Patty Melville MLS
Pittsfield MA elem schools
3tunas@vgernet.net

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=
To quit LM_NET (or set NOMAIL or DIGEST), Send an email message to
    listserv@listserv.syr.edu    In the message write EITHER:
 1) SIGNOFF LM_NET 2) SET LM_NET NOMAIL or 3) SET LM_NET DIGEST
  * NOTE: Please allow time for confirmation from Listserv.
For LM_NET Help & Archives see:  http://ericir.syr.edu/lm_net/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=