I’ve been laying the groundwork and checking in with other bookmark bloggers and manufacturers, just making sure I wasn’t onto some crazy notion that made perfect sense to me and no one else. And what I found is that there was A LOT of interest, excitement, and ideas about a convention, and about how accessible a virtual convention can be.

So now, we’re going public. The website can be found at:

• www.bookmarkcollectorsvirtualconvention.com
• www.bookmarkcollectorsconvention.com
• www.bookmarkconvention.com
• www.bmcvc.com

The official website is the last one in the list (also the shortest!), but any of the names will get you there (and the longer ones may be easier to remember). There you’ll find a lot of documentation and descriptions.

So what is a virtual convention? Well, here’s the official press release:

FIRST VIRTUAL CONVENTION FOR BOOKMARK COLLECTORS

On February 20 and 21, 2010 the first convention for bookmark collectors will take place online. For 24 hours, bookmark collectors from all over the world will meet to give and attend seminars, view galleries, shop, swap, and socialize with other collectors and enthusiasts. For many collectors, this will be the first time they will have the opportunity to meet and discuss their passion with other enthusiasts, live.

If you collect bookmarks, make bookmarks, or are curious about bookmarks; if you are interested in ephemera, biblio-paraphernalia, craft samplers, book history, small art, or collectibles; or if you are interested in seeing the first virtual convention for collectors of any sort, then stop by the website and register for the Bookmark Collectors Virtual Convention.

Convention Website: www.bmcvc.com or www.bookmarkconvention.com

Contact: Alan Irwin, info@bmcvc.com

Lauren Roberts, lauren@bmcvc.com

For announcements and updates, read the blog or subscribe to the newsletter

At the website you’ll find the current plans. But, it’s still early and not everything has been set. We are still looking for input, ideas, and participants.

So please add to the discussion, either in the forums, by adding a comment here, or writing to me at the convention address. This is a chance to create something we can all enjoy and learn from and an opportunity to add to the hobby regardless of our “collectors credentials”.

One of my many hobbies is gaming. This takes the form of board games, card games, video games, and role playing games. Steve Jackson Games is one of the major vendors in the role playing field, and the company is also known for their many games that have a humorous twist. Munchkin is a card game that fits into the dungeon adventure gaming genre with a serious splash of insider humor. A basic set comes with 168 cards, a six sided die, and a rule set. However, there are a lot of expansion sets and accessories available to broaden the experience, and the game is very popular – at least among the gaming crowd.

Well, I just discovered that SJG has a large set of bookmarks that are part of the game expansions. These aren’t just promotional bookmarks with cute illustrations from the cards, but actual game elements. You can “play” one of these bookmarks in the course of a game! There are at least 23 bookmarks in English and 9 in German.

Below is a sample bookmark from the official website along with its instructions:

You may use this bookmark in any game of Munchkin or its sequels. It may be used at any time except during combat. You may only use one bookmark (of any kind) per game unless you change sex. If you change sex, you may use a second bookmark. You may not use more than two in a game, no matter what.

1. Show everyone the bookmark so they can satisfy themselves as to the exact nature of its vileness.
2. Discard as many cards as you like, from your hand only, and lose as many levels as you like (minimum 1).
3. Your chosen victim now loses as many levels as the total of the cards you discarded and the levels you lost. You must chortle gleefully.
4. Give the bookmark to the victim. It’s his now. He may save it for later, or (if he is eligible) use it during the current game.
5. Note that once someone reaches 10th level, they have won. You can’t use the bookmark on them AFTER they win, because the game is over!

This discovery has my head reeling for two reasons. First, I want to collect all the bookmarks in this series. Second, the idea of using bookmarks as gaming elements has got my creative juices flowing.

Watch out for some new ideas in the near future!

BOOKMARKS IN THE NEWS

Informarion:

At BiblioBuffet, Laine Farley has an interesting article discussing corner bookmarks – Link

Designs:

An image of some interesting animal shaped bookmarks, but I can’t find the manufacturer – Link

A bookmark design contest in North Yorkshire, England supporting a campaign encouraging kids to read – Link

Contests:

The Allen County Public Library (Fort Wayne, IN) is holding a contest for kids to design a bookmark – Link

The Boone County Public Library (Kentucky) is holding its second National Library Week Bookmark Contest. You can also see the winners from last year’s contest (in my opinion, we don’t see enough of the winning entries from these contests, so check them out) – Link

Poetry Bookmark Contest for teens at the Bruton Memorial Library in Hillsborough County, Florida – Link

Contest Winners:

The Camden, NJ Riversharks have selected the winners of their 7th annual Reading with the Riversharks bookmark contest – Link

BOOKMARKS FOR SALE

Etsy:

Kids laminated Bookmark – Link

Free:

The municipal library in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, Japan has 50 handmade bookmarks to give away thanks to an anonymous donor – Link

A bookmark featuring 124 two-letter words accepted on a Scrabble board (very cool) will be given out with registration for a Scrabble workshop – in Manama Bahrain (drat!) – Link

ON-LINE BOOKMARK COLLECTIONS

Flickr:

A Granny Square bookmark – Link

An amazing collection of vintage bookmarks – Link

Punto de Papel:

A set of bookmarks from the anime Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch – Link

Highlighting the northern Spanish seaport of Castro Urdiales – Link

Bookmarks from the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – Link

Inside Books: Bookmark of the Week:

Magnetic bookmark from the London Transport Museum – Link

Miscellaneous:

A beautiful, hand-made bookmark by a stamping artist – Link

Another beautiful bookmark created by a different stamp artist – Link

A bookmark made for an email swap – Link

MAKING BOOKMARKS

How to make a wooden bookmark – Link

On March 8-9 there will be an on-line tutorial making a bookmark from fabric – Link

However, I have had time to add a couple of new items to my collection, and I thought I’d show them off. Of course, Guatemala is known for its beautiful weaving and embroidery, so I had to have one (or many!) of the woven bookmarks. They’re done for the tourists, but since I fit that category I’m quite pleased.

The second bookmark I bought has a picture embossed in metal, mounted onto a leather backing. I was quite taken by the piece and although I’ve seen a lot of the woven bookmarks throughout Guatemala, I have yet to find another vendor selling the metal ones.

I´ll add more postings during our trip if I get the time. Otherwise I’ll be catching up with bookmark news and postings when I return home at the end of November.

Hasta Luego,

Alan

As you can see in the photo, the shape is the same as a basic bookmark. However, there’s a simple sliding mechanism that allows a pointer to be positioned where you are reading in the text. The idea being that if your reading is interrupted, when you return to the book you’ll know exactly where to pick up again.

It seems to me that there are two big ‘ifs‘ to the success of this method. If you remember to set the pointer when you break from the book, and if the bookmark doesn’t shift its position, then when you return to the book the bookmark will show you where you left off. As an engineer, I get progressively more uncomfortable with a tool the more it depends on a series of correct user behaviors.

Still, I’ll probably give these a try (I have them on order) and let you know.

I’m curious about other contests like this. It seems like a great combination of ideas.

Link