Fondren Library sends almost 8,500 volumes per year to our bindery, The HF Group, in North Manchester, Ind. There are approximately fifteen shipments per year, scheduled every three weeks. Serials constitute the bulk of the material bound. Serial issues are pulled from the current periodical shelves or from the stacks when a volume is complete, large enough to be bound, and old enough that there are other later issues left on the shelf. Issues may be unavailable for public use for up to seven weeks, as it takes two weeks to prepare a shipment, three weeks for shipment, binding, and return, and another two weeks for processing of the bound volumes after they return from the bindery.

A patron looking for a particular issue of a serial may ask at the Reference Desk. The Reference Librarian will call the Binding Unit to inquire about the title. If the issue is still in the building and not boxed, it can be retrieved for use by the patron. If it has already been sent to the bindery or boxed and ready for shipment, the patron can find out the due date and place a hold if desired. If the patron does not wish to wait for the return of Fondren's copy, ILL can generally provide a copy of the needed material.

Some newly acquired paperback books are also sent to the bindery, although the majority are sent directly to the stacks. Older, heavily-used books, are sometimes rebound when repair is not sufficient.