Alatariel, congratulations! I'm glad they had it! Many happy map-tracings to you.
Pukel-man, I had similar questions, and I didn't find much; but, you might want to look at this link for general interest, although it's mostly about hardcover repair:
repair
If your books are really disintegrating, would you consider simply retiring them to the shelves and getting a new reading copy? Don't throw them out; put them out to pasture, so to speak.
Or-- if you just can't do that-- I've been known to cover my paperbacks, essentially putting a dust-jacket on them as if they were a hardback; or, sometimes I even put a layer of clear contact paper over the cover (this truly **horrifies** some people, but then the book becomes much tougher.) If it's a book that I really want to protect and maintain its original condition as best I can, then I put on a paper cover (like a dust-jacket) and then cover THAT with clear contact paper.
Good luck. Whatever you do don't throw them out. I got rid of my originals (they had mildewed) and ... (sob) ... well, just don't do it! Keep them!