Sunday: May 3 & May 17, 2026
10:30 am – 4:30 pm (30-minute lunch break)
$515 Non-Member/$500 Member
An additional $25 materials fee is payable to the instructor.
Location: Arts Benicia Annex, 991 Tyler Street, Suite 116, Benicia
Levels: All
Age minimum: 18+
Minimum 5 | Maximum 8
Class Description: Join Gillian Boal on the first Sunday to start preparing your text blocks. Then you will discuss the various binding styles and how to make repair decisions. You will learn the different ways to mend paper, attach and/or replace end sheets, and line spines. You will learn about appropriate adhesives. On the second Sunday, you will repair the binding and reattach it to the repaired text block.
Please bring a bag lunch, including drinks. Please bring a sample of a 20th-century book, with a broken binding, to work on. Books that need repair will also be supplied if the sample is not suitable.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Gillian Boal was trained at the Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts and she worked for Cockerell and Son in England. Gillian has repaired books at many institutions. She worked at UC Berkeley Doe Library, in the Preservation Department, in the conservation studio for 25 years. She then worked for the Sutro Library, in San Francisco , the UC Berkeley Law Library and the Graduate Theological Union Library.
She is an experienced teacher and has taught repair to many students and interns at Mills College, Berkeley Schools and Info People. She co-founded the bookbinding class at the San Francisco Center for the Book. Currently she runs her own conservation studio giving private repair classes.
Instructor Email: gboal29@gmail.com
Instructor Website: boal-conservation.com