A process for forwarding selected passages from an electronic document being presented on a portable electronic reader, where the electronic document has been previously downloaded into a memory of the electronic reader. The process permits a user of the electronic reader to electronically identify and select the passages from an electronic document being presented on the portable electronic reader. The process also includes the automatic association of metadata with a selected passage, where the metadata includes citation information identifying the presented electronic document as the source document. The selected passages and associated metadata are stored in the portable electronic reader, for subsequent transmission over the communications network to a designated recipient.