An ex libris stamp is a type of label that denotes ownership of a book. These displays of ownership are known as bookplates, which started as personalized pages that would be pasted into the front of books. These bookplates were often hand-drawn, and over time, people shifted from entire pages to using smaller stamps, which proved to be more convenient as they were fast and reusable. While these stamps are highly customizable, almost all include the owner’s name and a version of the phrase “ex libris”, which is Latin for “from the library of…”.
There is a deep history ingrained in the use of ex libris stamps. Traditionally used by scholars, ex libris marks helped identify and protect important literary works. They also acted as a tool for categorizing information and the physical texts themselves. But as books became more readily available to the masses, the use of ex libris stamps fell out of fashion.
As literacy rates in this country plummet, could popularizing ex libris stamps encourage more people to take pride in physical books?
These stamps allow for far more personal expression than simply writing your name in a book. The inclusion of drawings and images allows the owner to share their interests and values without saying a single word. Historically, they displayed the owner’s family coat of arms or related symbols. Now, people use whatever speaks to them: animals, plants, even cartoon images of themselves.
Nothing is more annoying than lending someone a book and never having it returned. These stamps are a great reminder of who the book actually belongs to. Combined with the growing popularity of community “little libraries”, it is clear these stamps would be a great way to help parents and kids identify books that belong to them and which are borrowed. But I make no guarantee that having one means that your loaned books will be returned.
Ex libris stamps not only allow for personal expression but also encourage people to read more, which makes them good in my book, literally.
