grrrrrrrrrrr.. this is the 4th library book today that is full of notes, underlines and highlights from the previous borrowers. I hate it. It makes it so hard to get into the text and read properly.

Timely post: my second supervisor ordered a new book for the library, cost over 200quid and is pretty much the Bible for my area. I took it out; and my undergrad project student borrowed it.

Just got it back off her and it is absolutely FULL of underlinings, scribbles and "SCAN THIS" next to half the bloody pictures. I'm so annoyed cos I am probably responsible for lending it out to her.

Honestly, who scribbles in a book that doesn't belong to them?!

That's very annoying juno. I know it will sound like a pointless rant to some people but treating a library book like that is a very thoughtless thing to do.

I absolutely would NEVER NEVER NEVER write on a library book - in fact I even feel guilty if my pen drops onto the page and makes a tiny mark. But...I haven't really had the problem of getting badly marked books out on loan. Just the odd pencil note here and there, which doesn't affect my reading of the text. As for your undergrad student juno - that's shocking. I might even raise the issue with him/her - do they know how much it cost?

Its an awful thing to do.. It wouldn't enter my head to deface one of my own books like that let alone a library book. I think people who do that should be forced to pay something for the damage.

Here is what I "tried" reading from today:

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k248/404_forum/stupid_borrower.jpg

This person underlined every other sentence throughout the chapter.

Tricky - that's a really good word for it, the book HAS been DEFACED. And no, I wouldn't do it to one of my own books either - I make the extensive notes ON A SEPARATE PAGE. It's not that difficult...

that is shocking. why do people do that to stuff that isnt theirs? Do they just *forget* it's a library book?

I'd be embarassed to think of someone else reading my inane margin scribbles.

Agh, how annoying. I love books and could never do that to my own let alone public ones.

I can't write on books that are mine, even when I was doing GCSE english and we were told to write in the margins etc I hated it, it just feels wrong somehow!

At the end of the day how difficult is it to run a few pages off on the photocopier then you can scribble away as much as you want.

i have to confess i scribble all over my own books. I think it is nice, it makes them more personal. When i go back, it reminds me of when i was there before.

does mean i am amassing a shockingly large collection of books - must be one of amazon's best customers.

I don't want to sound horrible but it must be something to do with upbringing and education. I remember growing up thinking books are valuable things, we need to respect them. Not in an admiring way, but seeing them as things to last and being resources other people can use too. My mother reads a lot, and she taught us at a very young age not to mark books, not to fold pages etc.

oops aliby. Your message appeared after I wrote that comment

404, I was trying to think of a possible reason for the difference in attitudes about writing on books, but not sure why it seems to be so black and white - some people do, some people would never. I guess it must be something to do with parental/educational influence too... I did write on my A-level English books as I studied them, not thinking I'd be giving them back, and it was so awful when they were duly collected in at the end of the two years...because the book had become mine. Haven't written on anything else, I don't fold the pages either - it's just unnecessary.