How can I best repair or protect this torn cover? I recently received a large hardback book I ordered online, only to find it was damaged during the mail process. There's a tear in the cover just on the back edge of the spine. It's not a huge tear, but it's unsightly and definitely has the potential to worsen and further damage the book.

I'm wondering if anybody would have suggestions on how to best repair this damage and/or protect the rest of the book. I'd just tape it up, but I know that adhesives can have adverse affects on paper via aging, acids, etc.
A search online for a solution to this problem only seems to throw up tutorials on completely replacing a book spine, reattaching a separated cover, etc - but I imagine there has to be some knowledge out there about a common, relatively small problem like this. Any thoughts or advice? Is there somewhere else I should be asking? Complete book repair newbie here.
There are several ways to repair, one of the easiest would be to use book repair tape. There are several different ones available through Dick Blick.
Two that I have used in the past and have worked well are Lineco Spine Repair Tape and 3M Scotch #845 Book Tape. The first is basically a cloth tape available in both black and white. The 3M tape is a thick, clear tape if you want still want to be able to see the spine.
I prefer the 3M tape (mainly for being able to see the spine). My recommendation is to cover the entire spine of the book and to extend the tape at least 1&quot; from the top and bottom. Then fold the tape down in between the cover and the book pages. Trim the foldover into a trapezoid shape for ease of insertion. Once you have taped the spine, leave the book closed for a day or longer so the adhesive in the tape can bond securely to the cover.