Restoration Guide

I'll preface by saying this guide is not a cure-all. Library books with deeply inked stamps, and/or books with severely bent binding, heavy wear and tear, and other major imperfections cannot be restored to like-new condition. However, I'll share what I've been able to do to improve the condition of library copies I've bought for my collection.

Before and after sanding an ink stamp

I do not recommend trying to remove stickers or stamps from the inside of your volumes - this is usually very difficult and is likely to cause damage.

Stickers & Residue

Start by peeling off any external stickers you want to remove. If you find the adhesion super sticky, you can use a hair dryer to slightly melt the glue to make the sticker easier to remove. Heat is a natural enemy to books though, so be aware you may cause damage with this method.

If your library books are completely covered with a laminate sticker, it may be possible to remove this as well. However, I do not recommend doing this with matte covers such as Blue Flag or Blue Period. Typically these stickers adhere much better to matte covers, and if you try to remove it will cause much more damage by peeling the paper away from the binding, which is like ripping a shipping label off of a box. Not pretty!

Thankfully, the vast majority of manga printed nowadays uses glossy covers (Naruto singles, Chainsaw Man, etc.), so it's more feasible to remove laminate stickers from these volumes without causing much, if any, damage. Be very patient - peel the sticker back very slowly and as flat as possible against the cover.

As for the residue, one of my favorite products of all time are Goo Gone Wipes. (Amazon used to have these available for purchase of just one container, but lately I've only been able to find a four-pack. Walmart does carry a single canister but it's a little overpriced. There are other retailers who offer single canisters if you just give it a Google, or you may be able to find these at your local office supply store.)

Drastically different than using a liquid residue remover, these wipes have the consistency and dampness of an antibacterial wipe you might use around the house. As long as you don't rub them along the pages, they don't pose any risk to damaging your books, unlike liquid remover which is easy to overuse and takes a long time to dry. The moisture from the wipes dries within 30 seconds or so, then I recommend wiping it clean with a dry paper towel and letting the book air dry for 10 minutes or so before putting it back on the shelf. Pro tip: you really only need about half or less of each wipe to completely remove the stickers and residue from any standard volume. Thankfully they tear easily so you can conserve!

Paired with a credit card to gently scrape off smaller sticker(s), these wipes work incredibly well for removing residue. Make sure not to use too much pressure when going with the credit card method to avoid causing indentations on the cover.

Again, I wouldn't try to do anything about the stickers inside the book. These typically adhere too well to the paper to be removed without causing any damage.

Ink stamps

Before and after sanding down an ink stamp

Perhaps the biggest nuisance of library books are the permanent stamps they use on the sides of the pages to identify the location the book belongs to. This is likely the largest reason people prefer to avoid buying used library copies, even when it's often much cheaper to do so.

If you don't mind having some library copies in your collection, I've found sanding can be a way to reduce the visibility of these stamps, and can help mask yellowing as well.

You'll want to use a fine-grit sandpaper like 220 or 320 grit, which you can purchase in either sheets or sponges. Avoid sanding the edges of the cover as best you can; I find this easiest by bending the book slightly forwards and backwards to sand at an angle. Also, try to sand the entire surface evenly rather than just focusing on the stamp so the edges look more uniformly clean. The more you sand, the more of the stamp you'll remove, but the more "matte" the edges will look.

Ink Stamps Completely Removed

I hope you've found all of this information helpful! As always, feel free to reach out if you need any help.

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