Annotation
How to Annotate a Book Without Writing in It
Library books, loans, gifts, and any copy you might sell later still need marks. The marks just cannot live in the paper. Sticky notes, tabs, a bookmark, a pencil only if the owner agrees, a notebook, and a photograph of the page will cover it.
Decide what the owner will tolerate
If the book is not yours, assume that ink and highlighter are out. Pencil is a separate question. Ask. A light graphite line often lifts with a soft rubber, but some owners still refuse, and coated paper smears. If you have not asked, do not try it on page 12.
Sticky notes and tabs come off. They are the default for a book you will return. For a copy you do own and are happy to mark, a written legend is more useful than a forest of flags. That legend is the annotation key.
Sticky notes: one idea, and not on the words
Write the note before you stick it down. A biro pressed through a flag will dent the type underneath. One idea per note. A paragraph on a small flag falls off and becomes litter in the bag.
Park the note in the margin, or just below the line, with the sticky strip on blank paper when you can. Do not cover the sentence you will want to reread. When you finish, pull the notes out in order and deal with them the same day. A novel returned to the library still full of flags looks unfinished, and the notes get thrown away with the return.
Tabs need a colour and two words
Colour is the category. The words on the tab are the reason. Use the same colours as your annotation key if you have one, so a yellow tab and a yellow pen are one idea. A tab that only says “good” will mean nothing in a month. Write “Ch3 claim”, “her hands”, or “for the essay”.
Stick the tab on the outer edge so a closed book shows the row of colours. A tab buried in the gutter will not be found. Take every tab out before you return the book. Adhesive left for months goes yellow, and a tab in a library copy becomes the next reader’s problem.
A bookmark for place, a card for pages
A ribbon means “I am here”. Do not also make it mean “this page mattered”. Those are two jobs, and one ribbon will do the wrong one. If you must not stick anything at all, keep a card in the book and write a short list on it: 42 the house, 87 the argument, 110 come back. The page number goes down at the moment you notice the page, not at the end of the chapter.
Pencil, if you have permission: use a hard pencil, a light line, and a soft rubber afterwards. Do not press. On thin paper the groove shows on the next leaf even after the graphite has gone. When you are unsure, skip the pencil and use the notebook.
Keep a notebook that is not the book
This is the method for a rare book, a loan, and any book you refuse to mark even when you could. Write the page number first, then a short run of the author’s words, then your own note underneath or on the facing page. If you copy the sentence and forget the page, you have made a search you will not enjoy.
Put the book’s title and the date at the top of the page once. Separate the quotation from your comment with a blank line, so that in six months you can tell the author’s sentence from yours. A published list of lines, such as the quotes index, is someone else’s choice of what mattered. The notebook is yours.
Photograph the page before the book goes back
Notes and tabs leave with you, or they go in the bin. The page does not. Take the photo while the book is still in the house, in even light, with the phone parallel to the page. Include the line you care about and a little of the paragraph around it. Framing is covered in the scan guide.
BookQuotes is for that photograph. On capture it can detect the page number, so you are not trusting a memory of “about 214”. You still check the number and the words against the print. On a library book the page is clean, so the note you typed on the tab goes in with the quotation. Custom markings are for a copy you do write in: you name each mark and what it means. Collections and tags are how you find the line later, next to lines from other books. The app does not import Kindle highlights.
Related reading
Questions readers ask
Will sticky notes damage the page?
They can, if you leave them on for years, or if you rip them off coated paper in a hurry. For a loan of a few weeks they are the ordinary tool. Take them off before you return the book. If the paper is fragile, skip the adhesive and use the notebook.
Is pencil always safe in a book?
No. Ask the owner first. Even with a yes, a soft pencil and a heavy hand will show. Use a hard pencil, a light line, and a soft rubber when you are finished. If the paper is thin, the dent remains after the mark has gone.
How do I clear a library book without losing the notes?
Photograph the page, or copy the page number and the note into the notebook, before you pull anything off. Do not do it from memory in the library queue. Then remove every tab and every flag.
What can I write on a tab that is too small for a sentence?
A label, not the quotation. “Ch3 claim” or “her hands” is enough. The author’s words go in the notebook or into the photograph, with the page number.
Can I keep a searchable copy without writing in the book?
Yes. Photograph the page, check the words, and keep your note with the line. BookQuotes can detect the page number on capture. Collections and tags group it with other books. You name your own markings for copies you do write in. It does not import Kindle highlights.