The John Martin Rare Book Room Annual Open House

Join us every spring for a curated trip through the JMRBR collection. 2025 date TBA.

The John Martin Rare Book Room Presents

This lecture series highlights the breadth and depth of the collection. It brings together historians of medicine and the health sciences, humanities scholars, librarians, artists, and bibliophiles from all walks of life to tell their stories, the stories of the famous – and not so famous – medical practitioners, scientists, and patients throughout the ages, and the stories of the books themselves. The lectures occur quarterly and occasionally in conjunction with the Iowa Bibliophiles series from the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collections.

The Prominent Role of Women in 19th-century Midwestern Medicine – Greta Nettleton – May 3, 2023
Waste Not, Want Not: Exploring the Binder’s Waste of the John Martin Rare Book Room (Iowa Bibliophiles) – Damien Ihrig, MA, MLIS – March 8, 2023
Mental Health and the Weight of the Past – Jonathan Reeder, PhD – October 18, 2022
The Origin of Viruses – Charles Grose, MD – June 6, 2022
Eyeing Research Rabbit Holes – Sonja Mayrhofer, PhD – February 16, 2022
The Power of Necessity – Kimberly Sprague, MSN, ARNP, CNM – October 6, 2021
The Roots of Medicine (Iowa Bibliophiles) – Chris Childs, Damien Ihrig, Matt Regan – April 14, 2021
Correctional Measures – Elizabeth Riordan – February 22, 2121
The Medical Arts – Vero Rose Smith – November 16, 2020

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa-sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact our office in advance at damien-ihrig@uiowa.edu or 319-335-9154.