As ironic as it may sound, one of the best sources of good ideas and techniques is in the many books on bookbinding. The majority of these are written with the craft or hobby bookbinder in mind, and so will cater for those that do not necessarily have all of the modern machinery and equipment.Some of the many good ones include:

• The Thames and Hudson Manual of Bookbinding, by Arthur Johnson
• Book Binding for Book Artists, by Keith Smith and Fred Jordan
• The Craft of Bookbinding, by Manly Banister
• Hand Bookbinding, A Manual of Instruction, by Aldren Watson

Books such as Johnson's are now out of print, and you will need to search second hand book shops and web sites.