Marginalia is a family of projects that make it easier to catalogue, share, and learn from physical books.
Product
Marginalia App (coming December 2025)
The first release of the Marginalia App is focused on cataloguing physical books.
Accurate data capture - capturing the exact edition you own, not just “a copy of this title”
Cataloguing speed - the industry standards ISBN scanning
Intuitive search - user friendly search and photo capture to help you find the exact book you own
Export - understanding that the app functionality is still limited, export is supported from day one
Easy feedback - easy to suggest improvements or raise issues right inside the app
Plans
For individuals
Librarian service - we come to your home and catalogue your books using the Marginalia App
Physical spaces - know exactly where your book is
Public website for your collection - host your chosen books on a website and “show off” your collection
Lending - allow friends to borrow your books, keep tabs on where they are
Use how and where you want - query your book collection using APIs, share with LLMs using AI friendly export or perhaps even MCP servers
For workspaces and communities
Peer-to-peer lending - facilitating sharing of books within communities, return requests, etc
Physical communal libraries - members have their shelves in a communal library and books can easily be borrowed from any shelf. Members can still keep track who last borrowed the book and even get refunded in case of loss.
Ideas
Second Hand Bookshop software - Tools for serious cataloguing work, handling old, rare, or unusual editions
Smart Bookmark - A bookmark that tracks your reading progress automatically
Notes capturing Glosa - Capture and organise annotations from physical books
Image capturing Florilegium - Capture and organise images from physical books
Mission
It’s important to me to prove that it’s possible to build a company/product (and make money) because of the values and ambitions one hold. Marginalia succeeding because of how it’s built is itself the point.
Business values
- Value physical interactions over online ones
- Joy over productivity
- Support local community: London → UK → Europe
- Use technology when the benefits outweigh the consequences — or at least actually go through that evaluation
- Slow, sustainable growth
- Impact by example
Promises to users
- You are not the product. You own your data and share it as you please. Our business model will never be based on that.
- Duty of care. It’s my responsibility to think about the consequences, research the risks and educate you so that you can make informed decisions, e.g. if you share your library, perhaps you’re inviting burglars into your house.
- Listen. I’ll always make it easy to contact me. Feedback is built into the first release.
- Free where possible. Keep as much functionality as possible free. Look for alternative revenue sources such as voluntary contributions, services for organisations, and corporate accounts.
Promises to community
- Think about the consequences. For bookshops, libraries, writers and anyone whose lives can be impacted
- Share what I learn as I learn it. Show the behind the scenes (processes, tools, costs)
- Create jobs and hire with impact
- Use indie products and services where possible
- Open-source where possible
The key to all of this is honesty and transparency. I hope I can sustain Marginalia while keeping these commitments (to myself and you).