Jeff the Bibliothecary recently raised the question of marginalia. I'm not exactly sure where I stand on the issue. I don't think it's wrong to write in a book, and it is certainly quicker and easier than taking notes on every interesting tidbit. In How to Read a Book, the authors recommend "making a book your own" by marking significant words or passages, writing comments in the margins, creating an index of major points in the back and an outline of the book in the front. I can see how this would help the reader understand and assimilate a book, but I can't help feeling that all that marking would be a distraction during future readings.
I am sure about marginalia in library books though: offenders should be forced to reshelve a hundred books for every mark before they are allowed to borrow again. Today I made a grand trek to obtain the only library copy of Norton Critical Edition of The Picture of Dorian Gray in the region, and to my horror it is heavily marked (see below). Did this reader think they were the only person on the planet who would ever want to read that book? Did they think the library obtained the book especially for them? I call it an acute case of biblionarcissism.
Luckily the marginalia is mostly in pencil, which I am now in the process of erasing (just doing my part for the old alma mater). I am also tempted to write a warning against vandalism in the front of the book to deter future offenders. Perhaps two wrongs can make a right. Any suggestions for a witty anti-marginalia foreword suited to self-absorbed undergraduates are welcome.
