I studied bookcraft at college in Oxford under NC Patten. Since then it has been an enjoyable hobby, and a useful source of income at times. Now I am retired ~ and a grandparent ~ and 'once a teacher always a teacher'. I am happy to share some thoughts on bookcraft. I am not trying to persuade ~ or influence ~ or sell products. I write for the benefit of readers who have shown sufficient interest in bookcraft or bookbinding to arrive at this WWW page and wish to know more. It is not widely taught in schools and the subject is not appreciated. It caught my interest sixty years ago ~ and still remains pleasurable. That answers the question raised at the start of the first paragraph.
Any hobby is a useful element for living a richer life. If you agree with this then you will also agree that the sooner in life it is started, the better. Bookcrafts can be started, with modest slight supervision and encouragement, from ~ at a guess ~ four or five years old. There are suitable ways of presenting projects that will interest such youngsters, and they will quickly produce something useful [112009] .
Manual dexterity is not as important in bookcraft as in many other crafts. Projects can be chosen that suit the abilities of the craftsperson. Needles and craft knives are necessary at some time, but with supervision their safe use can be explained and practised. Blunt needles and pre-punched holes are suitable for the very young ~ there are many projects that do not require scalpels. There are technques for controlling their use in larger classes [124761] .
You will notice that I am using the word bookcraft all the time. I could use bookbinding ~ as in "Come to my bookbinding course ~ Monday evenings - 7-9pm". A teacher must be honest and encouraging. Bookbinding takes full time study and practice for several years ~ The skills of an Extra Binder take another ten to master [112759]. It would be dishonest to suggest that I could produce bookbinders in a few hours a week. It would be discouraging to tell potential students that. Hence bookcrafts ~ the start of something big and beautiful. Besides it lets me get away with some rather frivolous book~making techniques.
I have written a further note on this topic [127064] .
I wish to acknowledge the skills and training bookbinders. I am not writing for them ~ or competing for their skills. A professional bookbinder ~ and there are many around have far more skill and knowledge at his ~ or her ~ fingertips than we are writing about here. Note that females ~ and differently abled people ~ are not in any way disadvantaged.
Similarly I often mention booklets rather than books. This is because I have met people who remark 'That's not a book'. For those selling 'books' via the WWW ~ beware of other people's perception of what constitutes a book. I am not prepared to argue over this ~ just move on and have fun making stuff with paper [Arkwright].