In “State of the Annotation” in the September 13 issue of Inside Higher Education, columnist Scott McLemee muses about marginalia, especially others' marginalia, in books. He sometimes purchases a clean copy of a book so that a previous reader's underlining, highlighting, and comments won't skew his own interpretation of the text.

It is so much easier these days, as readers' comments at the foot of McLemee's column demonstrate, to add marginalia to a text. Freed of the limits of narrow margins, today's e-marginalia can be more fully formed and more articulate. (More legible, too!) It also lets readers choose between the author's pristine text or the author's text cum commentary. Now and then one will run across a book at a used book sale, or more likely in a library's stacks, in which multiple readers have carried on serial commentary, one adding marginalia commentary on a previous readers marginalia. The opportunities for this are much richer now, making genuine conversation back and forth possible. Readers comment in writing on authors; things have stayed the same. However things have changed for the better now that readers–as well as willing authors–can engage one another in give and take about a text.

The University of Richmond library has recently added netLibrary audio e-books to its offerings. They are catching on nicely despite the complaint we have heard more than once, “What do you mean I can’t download this to my iPod?” OCLC/netLibrary sent us publicity materials, including bookmarks.

When netLibrary debuted about eight years ago, it handed out sturdy canvas tote bags at an ALA conference and gave away bookmarks. At the time I asked a netLibrary sales rep how I could stick a paper bookmark in an e-book and how I could carry e-books in the tote bag. I don’t think I received the answer she wished she could have given me.

But it’s not only netLibrary that promotes e-resources with bookmarks. I have seen other bookmarks from other publishers as well as bookmarks libraries have produced to promote their electronic collections and services. The bookmark as library publicity vehicle is certainly durable. But are bookmarks effective? Especially for promoting electronic resources? Does it make sense to use them this way?

One side of the netLibrary bookmark: