A bookbinder is a skilled craftsperson who assembles and covers books, transforming loose pages into bound volumes. Before modern printing presses made mass-produced books common, bookbinders were essential artisans who sewed pages together, attached them to sturdy covers, and often decorated the bindings with leather, gold leaf, or elaborate designs.

The bookbinder's craft involves several precise steps: folding printed sheets into sections called signatures, sewing these sections together with strong thread, gluing the spine, and attaching covers made from wood, cardboard, or leather. A master bookbinder might spend days creating a single beautiful volume, carefully choosing materials and techniques to ensure the book would last for generations.

Though most books today are bound by machines in factories, bookbinders still work restoring damaged antique books, creating custom journals and albums, and producing special limited editions for collectors. Libraries and museums employ bookbinders to repair valuable old texts whose pages have grown fragile with age. Some bookbinders run small studios where they craft beautiful handmade books as works of art.

The related word bindery refers to a workshop where bookbinding happens, whether by hand or machine.