To provide an adhesive coater which controls the amount of application of an adhesive to a proper amount, without being attended with a conventional complex structure, by adjusting a rotational speed of a roller, a movement speed of the roller and a container, and the amount of a gap between the roller and the backside of a bundle of pieces of paper, and a bookbinding apparatus.

This coater is equipped with: sandwiching means 27 and 28 for holding the bundle of piece of paper in a sandwiching manner; the container 43 for storing melt adhesive subjected to hot melting; the roller 44 which is arranged in the state of being partially immersed in the adhesive 8 in the container 43, and which is rotated so as to coat the backside of the bundle of pieces of paper with the melt adhesive in the container 43; a rotary drive means 46 for rotatively driving the roller 44; moving means 38 and 40 for integrally moving the container 43 and the roller 44 along the longitudinal direction of the backside of the bundle of pieces of paper; and a movement drive means 42 for driving the moving means. In the coater, the rotational speed of the roller 44 can be changed and set by the means 46.