note-taking

thumb|right|U.S. President Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter's notes from his private meeting with [[Pope John Paul II, October 6, 1979.]]

Note-taking (sometimes written as notetaking or note taking) is the practice of recording information from different sources and platforms. By taking notes, the writer records the essence of the information, freeing their mind from having to recall everything. Notes are commonly drawn from a transient source, such as an oral discussion at a meeting, or a lecture (notes of a meeting are usually called minutes), in which case the notes may be the only record of the event. Since the advent of writing and literacy, notes traditionally were almost always handwritten (often in notebooks), but the introduction of notetaking software and websites has made digital notetaking possible and widespread. Note-taking is a foundational skill in personal knowledge management.