Every Book(mark) Has a Story: Messages

“A Message in a Bottle”

Unlike many other items left behind in returned library books, the first found item that sparked James Flowers’s collection was not lost at all. This note was placed in a book on purpose with the intention that it would be found some day in the distant future. It was not 2035 A.D. yet when the note was discovered, but the question posed in the note left the finder wondering what other messages might be waiting within library books.

A note written in blue ink on white cardstock. The note reads, This candy tray was placed in this book on September 16, 1985 with the realization that know one (or rather no one) reads these or uses these catalogs and that probably this won’t be found for 50 maybe 100 years! Now that you’ve found it, was I right? Is it 2035 A. D.?

Notes

Handwritten notes were a common find among the items in returned books. Most do not appear to be left intentionally, but rather forgotten or misplaced after the message was read. These messages embody the temporary nature of ephemera, with notes like the one written on a torn page reading “Let’s go to the 4th floor” having a specific, time-sensitive purpose. There may not be much context to these discarded notes now, but some human connection is clear in the brief text written across physical media like Post-Its, index cards, and scrap paper.

A note written in black ink on a scrap of paper. The note reads, Let’s go to the 4th floor.

A note written in black ink on a yellow Post-It. The note reads, This book sounds awesome! Also, enjoy this random puffy ‘H’ I found in the lib! and is signed Rebecca.

A yellow Post-It with a large, pink, puffy sticker of the letter ‘H’ adhered to it.

Memos

Handwritten memos, in this case more like “notes-to self,” were another type of message commonly left behind. With no clear intended audience other than the writer theirself, these notes have even less context than those written as a form of communication. Some, such as the note on poetry, contain complete thoughts while others have indecipherable meanings and remain a mystery.

Image of a notepad with the Cranium game title at the top. Text underneath the title reads, the game for your whole brain. There are also illustrations related to the game printed in the corners of the notepad. Shorthand notes written in pencil cover the first page of the notepad.

A torn-out page from a Chinese calendar. The front of the calendar page features text and characters for the month and day. The back of the page is ruled and features a printed heading that reads ‘Memo’. Text is written in pencil on the memo side of the calendar page and reads, Tuesday, 300, 120, 40. Wednesday, 300, 140, 60. Thursday, 300, 140, 800.

A ruled index card with a note written in blue ink. The note reads, poetry is what you thought about when you were a child, somehow not forgotten in the business of growing up, and discovered to be true and valuable, and possible, just as you always thought it was.

Correspondence

Other messages were a bit more formal than the quick notes handwritten on whatever paper was available. Postcards, greeting cards, and other postal mail traveled from near and far to make their way into library books as did blank stationery and letterheads intended for written correspondence.