You know, until you fixed the internal you can use an external USB keyboard. For such occasions I am keeping a tangerine Ur-iMac-type and a hockey-puck mouse for my tangerine Ur-iBook. Later models should work too, probably with the exception of some function keys. But there is some Apple "enabler" software for this. USB power is sufficient for the two peripherals.
I have not taken apart an iBook keyboard, only the mentioned Ur-iMac-type. This was not difficult. I rinsed the several layers of sheet material to get rid of minor stains, but I had no corroded traces. It may be difficult or even impossible to access these sheets on an iBook keyboard, at least impossible without further damage (like with the recent Mac keyboards).
So a spare keyboard is the best solution. You need to look up (iFixit) if the earlier transparent key-style is compatible with the later opaque ones (Firewire iBooks). The connector cable may be different (I have a vague memory of this). So you may need one from your era.
The key caps are easily swappable (at least within one "era"). You may want to do so, since some secondary function labels on the keys are color coded to the case colour of the iBook. (This is at least true for the earlier transparent keys.) So you don't need to wait until a "graphite" grey keyboard shows up for selling.
(I am writing this on my tangerine iBook from the previous millennium, late 1999 model. It is tethered to an 2016 iPhone via a 2009 MacBook Pro using the original Airport Card while the MacBook uses Bluetooth tethering to the iPhone
.)