@Grace, it's in the RBMSCL, you can request to read it in the reading room. @John, for me this particular repair is more about functionality. Yes, if it is just taped and working appropriately, then we likely wouldn't do anything with it because we have way too many more things in the collection that would take priority. However, if the repair was pulling the boards and first sections away causing damage (both common results of this kind of repair), we would remove it and repair the book in a way that doesn't make it self destruct. In our repairs we strive for several things, reversibility of the repair is our first concern and self-adhesive tape of any kind is not easily reversible. Repairs must be sensitive to the object, they must not impede the mechanics of the book as it is operated. And they must be sympathetic to the original materials, that is they shouldn't pop out at you as obvious but they also shouldn't hide the fact that the item was repaired. They should be visually integrated and not distracting. I think this old repair fails on all of these fronts. And John, while I agree with you that we read most books for their content, there is value in the aggregate including the binding. This can encompass historical information on construction methods and materials, design trends, manufacturing trends, etc. There have also been many famous book designers whose works of art as covers far outweigh the value of the content. There is so much online about 19th Century book designers before the invention of the book jacket. , Parks Library Preservation has a good summary of their attendance at <a href="http://www.rarebookschool.org/"Rare Book School. where they took the legendary Sue Allen's class on the history of publishers bindings.