 Build a Better BookmarkbyLaine Farley  One of the most ubiquitous objects of our times was the result of an attempt to create a better bookmark. The story goes that Art Fry , a new product development researcher at 3M, was frustrated by bookmarks that kept falling out of his choir book, and ultimately created the Post-It® note. Others have also endeavored to improve on the simplest of all devices.
The 3-in-1 Bookmark has three colored ribbons attached to a credit-card-like tab that slips in the spine of the book, allowing you to mark three different places in the same book. Medieval churches had similar devices for service books to help the monks or nuns easily find the right place for different parts of the service. In Old Service Books of the English Church , the author describes a book called the Martyrology that was used by nuns. It has two woven tapes, red and blue or green, to mark the first and second daily lesson of the Martiloge. These markers served another purpose by providing notes on the correct grammar for numbers and genders such as “benefactrix” and “benefactrices.”
In 1994, Horace Knowles, an 82-year-old inventor, received a patent on his Placemark bookmark which he claimed was the first breakthrough in bookmarks since 1384. The device noted the page by even or odd number and the portion of the page where the reader stopped. Unfortunately, the Wall Street Journal reported that his bookmark was not as successful as his other invention, the Twidd, which allowed “inveterate thumb twiddlers [to] rotate their thumbs in perfect circles without worrying about them stumbling across each other.” John Wang, creator of the Wang Bookmark, asked himself, “If the century-old preconceptions were forgotten, and the only goal was to design the perfect modern bookmark, would the bookmark still be rectangular?” His answer was a “modern bookmark [that] indicates the left or right-hand page, marks the exact line on that page, and splits the book without sticking out from the book.” Mr. Wang apparently studied the physics of bookmarks, observing that bookmarks tend to fall toward the right-hand page at the beginning of a book and toward the left-hand page when placed near the end of a book. His web site (now archived in the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine) invited users to see what happened when you clicked to “mark this line ”. This elegant “pizza slice” bookmark was reminiscent of medieval rotating disk bookmarks, a beautiful and intriguing design. Although he optimistically proclaimed that it was “likely your cheapest yet most talked about promotional tool,” it is no longer available as far as I can tell. The Pagekeeper bookmark boasts that it will keep your place “even in a stiff breeze” with its rod that holds open the page. A plastic base can be imprinted with a logo or name. A variation on this theme is the EZ Book Clip that holds pages open while doubling as a bookmark. These devices definitely serve a useful purpose but don’t have the tactile or aesthetic appeal of a good traditional bookmark.  The Lastline bookmark claims to be the “smart bookmark” by virtue of its design that highlights the last line read. This is a handy feature for times when you need to stop reading immediately—to get off at your bus or train stop or to find out what that loud crash was about—rather than stop at the end of a page. The Intelligent Bookmarks made by Compendium and the various Pagemark bookmarks by Franklin serve as handy dictionaries. The Intelligent Bookmarks, designed by inventor Joe Cusumano and wife Ann, were a series of folded bookmarks with definitions of challenging words included “Reader's Companion,” “Computer Terminology,” and “Internet Terminology.” The Pagemark has a tiny computer screen that sits on top of the book with an ultra thin keyboard that fits inside the book, used to query a small dictionary. Although it seems rather redundant, it also has a red ribbon to use as a more traditional bookmark. Zelco makes a similar product with about 130,000 definitions. Consumer reviews usually complain that the sizes of these mini-dictionaries are too small for avid readers who like to look up words while they read.  A high style design for a multi-purpose bookmark, Soft Scan by ECCO Design, won an IDEA award in 2002. This sleek stainless steel bookmark has an eyepiece or magnifying glass that rotates from the base. An article in the San Francisco Chronicle extolled the virtues of this simple but multipurpose design. The author noted that “the design is inexpensive to produce yet comes across as so jewel-like in appearance that the perceived value is many times higher than the manufacturing cost” and that “is durable and rustproof, it is far more likely to be passed on to the next generation than discarded. If the day comes on which it is no longer useful, it is, in any case, fully recyclable, as the lens can be removed and recycled separately.” Surely those are all characteristics of a “better bookmark.” Although many of these novel bookmarks seem like good ideas, it is perhaps an indication of their value that several of them can no longer be found. In the end, simple paper bookmarks or their handy substitutes in the form of tickets, receipts and cards appear to win the day with bookmark users. Bookmark specifications: Internet Terminology Dimensions: 1 1/4 x 2” Material: plastic Manufacturer: Lastline Bookmark Inc. Date: 2000 Acquired: American Library Association conference Bookmark specifications: Soft Scan Magnifying Bookmark Dimensions: 1 x 4” Material: stainless steel Manufacturer: ECCO Design Date: 2003 Acquired: Pelago gift shop, Oakland, CA Would you like a free bookmark from BiblioBuffet? Any book group, book festival, bookstore or individual who can use a bookmark is welcome to one or more. The front has our logo, and the back has our description and room for you to write your “BiblioThoughts.” If you are interested, send an email with your name, mailing address and the number of bookmarks you’d like. Nothing else will be sent, you won’t be bothered with any mail, nor will we share or even keep your address. This is a gift from us to you. Laine Farley is a digital librarian who misses being around the look, feel and smell of real books. Her collection of over 3,000 bookmarks began with a serendipitous find while reviewing books donated to the library. Fortunately, her complementary collection of articles and books about bookmarks provides an excuse for her to get back to libraries and try her hand at writing about bookmarks. Farley’s web site is Collecting Bookmarks (Physical, not Virtual) , and she can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |