If I have to be honest, I’m a terrible bookmark user.  

I tend to be all-in when I’m reading, which means I have a habit of setting my glasses down the second I don’t need them anymore (on a nightstand, or a coffee table, or inside the refrigerator…) and also using anything that’s near at hand when I need to mark my place in a book. A piece of mail, a (clean) napkin, a hair tie, a receipt, even my phone – all of these have been pressed into service as a bookmark from time to time.  

Based on what we see in the book drop, I’m not alone. My co-workers have found lots of different kinds of “bookmarks” in our items as they’re being checked in:  

• Combs 
• Birth certificates 
• Lego magazines 
• Magic The Gathering cards 
• Papa John’s instructions  

If it’s vaguely flat, it counts as a bookmark. Of course, there are many (MANY) things that the O’Fallon Library pages would prefer not to find in the book return. For example: 

• Floss picks 
• Used tissues  
• Socks 
• Slices of cheese 
• Chewed gum 

Essentially, if you can eat it – or if it’s ever been in your mouth – please don’t use it as a bookmark. Fortunately, if you find yourself grabbing random pieces of paper, small electronics, or stray animals to keep your place in a book, there is a solution. Stop in to see us here at the library, where we have a vast assortment of bookmarks, from perfectly plain to gaudily decorated, available for you free of charge.