To provide a method and an apparatus which provide a stack composed of book covers for production of finished books, and to provide a book production line provided with the apparatus.

The book covers (2.1-2.m) are compiled, stacked one above another in an unknown or known sequence and provided with cover information to form a task stack (1). The book covers of the task stack have identical cover formats. The book covers of the task stack are separated out and conveyed as separate book covers (7.1-7.n) in a sequence that does not change for the following method steps, until a completion signal is transmitted. An identifier (40) on each separated out book cover is detected, and the cover information is read out of the respective identifier and temporarily stored. The separated out book covers are deposited one on top of the other in the sequence in which they were separated out for forming a detected stack (7). The identifier that identifies the detected stack is stored together with the temporarily stored cover information.