I have often felt the urge to get in touch with those who have underlined and dog-eared the very pages I found significant. My proposal would be the next best thing - it would certainly provide a new means by which people could relate to each other.
What an excellent idea. Not only does it help the librarian to know how popular or unpopular the books are, but there seems no better way of making congenial friends than to share the same taste in reading and learning. Just a short phone call and a lasting new friendship could be made, because a similar taste for reading usually shows common interests and compatible temperaments.
I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but when I first read the article I was really horrified because there are problems associated with this sort of idea: the main one that springs to mind is that people would be encouraged to start writing in the body of the book; and the second one which is very important is that personal names and phone numbers could be used in a way that wasn't anticipated; and the last one is that I feel that people would start scribbling notes on the page that weren't acceptable to the majority of people.
(2) As to the danger associated with people giving their names and phone numbers:
(a) People are already prepared to take this risk of expressing their interests and giving their addresses or phone numbers in magazines such as Loot, so there is no reason why they should shy away from doing the same with this scheme;
(b) At the top of the pasted-in page could be a notice from the library warning that readers are advised to arrange to meet up first in a neutral venue such as a pub;
(c) As a further protection for those that want it, the library could offer a self-financing box number service, forwarding contact mail;
(d) The pasted-in pages could go initially into selected academic or similar books, and not into semi-pornographic or other dubious books;
(e) The scheme could be given an initial trial in a library used solely by students who are unlikely to feel at risk from fellow students.
(3) People might scribble obscene or objectionable comments, Cook fears. If the pasted-in page had a note to the effect 'please report objectionable graffiti to the library,' it could then be blacked out with a felt-tip pen or a fresh page pasted in. The previous borrower is likely to be the offender, and the risk of being identified in this way is likely to deter.
The Institute would be delighted to hear from any librarian prepared to consider a trial of the above scheme.