Holidays and bookmarks

You’ve probably noticed that the posts here have been few and far between, but I’m back from holidays and plan to keep up once again.  It’s nice to be back at my desk with the rumblings of the library around me, but I did enjoy a week away.

Bookmarks are always something we find when books are returned to the library and although we have seen many pictures, lottery tickets and even phone bills, one such blog has devoted itself to posting interesting things people have left in books.  The site is called Forgotten Bookmarks and you’ll find things like this old high school photo, complete with dedication on the back:

What do you use for bookmarks?  (And please don’t say you just fold down a corner of the page………….)

Make a bookmark!

I came across a great idea for a bookmark at Crafty Beats today.  This is the simple start of the bookmark, but they turn it into a four leaf clover, if you want to be really crafty!  Stop by the site and download the PDF today.  (Try this  simple version above and make it from any kind of yarn, string, twine or floss, I would think.  Try multiple colours for a great effect. ) Thanks, Crafty Beats!

Bookmark or snack?

Last week,  I found this little gem lying on a table in our library. Many patrons sit at these tables and work on their laptops or read books, often for hours at a time.  They are not supposed to bring food or drink into the library, but many people sneak it in (we often find the evidence later.)  So, was this a nice little juicy snack one evening…..or was someone just using the wrapper as a bookmark?  Either way, I question the taste of the person involved.

DIY Bookmark

Here’s a great idea for a do-it-yourself bookmark….and it is also recycled!  Use the corner from an old envelope and doodle or pop a sticker on and you have an instant bookmark!

I found this great idea on a blog called Double Takes! Thanks for the fabulous idea!

Need a bookmark?

Are you the type of reader that folds down a page corner when you finish reading?  Or do you use bookmarks and if so, what kind?  Of course, we see many different types of bookmarks at the library when people come in to renew their books….scraps of paper, lottery tickets, post it notes, pictures.  But what if there were bookmarks that would encourage us to use them?

How about a shelf that also holds your book open in the right place?

Designed by Nathan Wierink

Or what if your bookmark was more than just a piece of paper?  The Abracadabra Pneumatic Bookmark has two chambers, one of which is filled with air.  You place that part on your page, close the book and the air pushes out to the second chamber. When you want to open the book, simply push the little air packet and the air moves back into the other chamber to open your book. (I’m a little skeptical of the design here, but the idea is unique.)

You can read more about this bookmark and the science behind it here.

Avnish Gautam has designed an amazing concept bookmark that lights up at night and covers the area you’re reading. The MARK uses flexible OLED technology on a thin piece of plastic to illuminate the reading area to your preferred brightness.

During the day, this is like any other bookmark, but at night, it allows you to see exactly what you are reading.  You can see more of the design here.

While this next one is not really a bookmark per se, it is certainly unique.  Imagine seeing this book along your shelves.  It will dress up the area and provide some much needed  greenery.  It also opens up.

Visit Yanko Design for more great ideas.

The next time you close the book you’re reading, think about what you could be marking your page with.  Post it notes, be gone!

Not just bookmarks!

People mark their pages with the strangest things. At our library, we often come across items that people have left in a book to mark their pages but have forgotten to take out before returning the book. Usually, we find things like grocery lists, telephone or hydro bills, scraps of paper, sticky notes, and photographs. If we know who returned the book, we will call them if it is something important like a doctor’s appointment card or list of phone numbers. But sometimes, the item falls out of the book in the book return bin, or we don’t notice it until one of the kids is shelving books, and by then, it is usually too late.

I can’t tell you how many times people have returned or even donated old books that have photos inside. We usually place the photo out on the front desk so that everyone can see it, hoping someone will recognize a person in the picture. But we usually just get comments about how cute the little child is, or how nice the scenery is in the picture…never identification. Now maybe these aren’t treasured photos, but we’d like to think that someone out there wanted to keep it.

So what are some of the strangest things that have been found in books? How about a ring? Or a rookie baseball card worth a mint. Or lottery tickets? There’s a great article documenting items found in books here.

Why do people leave items like teeth or money in books? Why are they marking a page with items like that anyway? My grandmother used to keep money in books on one particular shelf in her house. I remember being a little girl and watching as she would pull down book after book, flipping through pages and pulling out a $10 bill here,a $20 bill there. She said she didn’t like banks, but I wonder if it was just her little way of stashing some spending money of her own. I’m sure that my aunt, who inherited her house when she died, is still finding cash among the pages.

What do you mark your pages with?