Book binder

Places of Employment: About 69,000 bookbinders and bindery workers were employed [in the United States] in 1978. Many worked in shops that specialize in bookbinding; others work in the bindery departments of book printing firms, commercial printing plants, and large libraries. Some bookbinders worked for the Federal Government. Although bookbinders work in all parts of the country, employment is concentrated in large printing centers such as New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. […] Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement: A 4- or 5-year apprenticeship, which includes on-the-job training as well as related classroom instruction, generally is required to qualify as a skilled bookbinder. Apprenticeship applicants usually must have a high school education, mechanical aptitude, and be at least 18 years of age. […] Employment Outlook: Employment of bookbinders and bindery workers is expected to increase more slowly than the average for all occupations through the 1980's. Nevertheless, some job openings will arise as experienced workers retire, die, or change occupations. Despite the anticipated increase in the amount of bound printed materials, employment growth will be limited by the increasing mechanization of bindery operations. Job opportunities are expected to be better for skilled bookbinders than for bindery workers since many tasks that bindery workers used [to] perform by hand will be done by machine.

During his seven-year apprenticeship to a bookbinder, [Michael] Faraday came across a single volume that changed his life: Isaac Watts's The Improvement of the Mind. Now largely forgotten, it was an early self-help book that contained a list of sixteen general rules for the improvement of knowledge. It also contained an overview of books and reading, a guide for study and meditation, tips on improving one's memory, and other suggestions for the betterment of the self. Faraday happened to read it just as he was developing a fascination with science, particularly the then-mysterious field of electricity, and he embraced the book's principles and suggestions.