Information from the Rare Book Room and around the world.

The latest updates from the Hardin Library Blog:

  • The Fabri-c of Our (Book) Lives | Conservation Corner

    by Sarah Andrews on September 27, 2023 at 6:06 pm

    by Giselle SimónUniversity ConservatorDirector, UI Libraries Conservation and Collections Care This particular treatment was a perfect candidate to test out some momigami, a long-fibered Japanese paper that is coated with konnyaku (a plant mucilage) and crumpled multiple times, giving it a fabric-like texture and strength. To back up a bit, early book repair and restorationContinue reading "The Fabri-c of Our (Book) Lives | Conservation Corner"

  • Absolutely Fab-rius | Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on September 27, 2023 at 5:05 pm

    Damien Ihrig, MA, MLISCurator, John Martin Rare Book Room Over time, books can start to show their age. All kinds of things take their toll on a book – fire, pollution, pests, and acidic inks, to name a few. Mostly, though – and this makes me very happy – books just get used. And thatContinue reading "Absolutely Fab-rius | Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library"

  • Presentations by our librarians at the 2023 Medical Library Association Conference

    by Sarah Andrews on June 21, 2023 at 6:51 pm

    The Medical Library Association (MLA) and the Special Libraries Association (SLA) held a joint annual conference in Detroit from May 16-19, 2023.  Three librarians from the Hardin Library for Health Sciences gave lighting talks and presentations at the conference. Lightning Talk: Authorship or Acknowledgement: A Complicated Question!   For librarians supporting systematic reviews, determining whether toContinue reading "Presentations by our librarians at the 2023 Medical Library Association Conference"

  • The History of Women’s Health & Women Practitioners in Midwest | John Martin Rare Book Room Open House & Lecture | Greta Nettleton, Speaker | Wed. May 3

    by Sarah Andrews on April 13, 2023 at 6:44 pm

    Join Hardin Library staff for the Annual John Martin Rare Book Room Open House featuring a lecture by Greta Nettleton. Wednesday, May 3 Open House,  3-6pm, John Martin Rare Book Room, 446 Hardin Library, 600 Newton Road, Iowa City Greta Nettleton Lecture,  6-7pm, Room 401 Hardin Library The open house will highlight historical works onContinue reading "The History of Women’s Health & Women Practitioners in Midwest | John Martin Rare Book Room Open House & Lecture | Greta Nettleton, Speaker | Wed. May 3"

  • Damien Ihrig | Curator | Waste Not, Want Not: Exploring the Binder’s Waste of the John Martin Rare Book Room | Video available

    by Sarah Andrews on March 20, 2023 at 6:31 pm

    Damien Ihrig is the Curator for the John Martin Rare Book Room (JMRBR) in the Hardin Library for the Health Sciences at the University of Iowa. He works with researchers of all ages and from various backgrounds to find and use information on the history of the health sciences. He also manages the collection of rareContinue reading "Damien Ihrig | Curator | Waste Not, Want Not: Exploring the Binder’s Waste of the John Martin Rare Book Room | Video available"

  • Anatomist Gabriel Fallopius | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | January 2023 Book of the Month

    by Damien Ihrig on January 17, 2023 at 8:01 pm

    by Damien Ihrig, curator   FALLOPIUS, GABRIEL (1523-1562). Libelli duo, alter de ulceribus: alter de tumoribus praeter naturam [Two pamphlets, one on ulcers: the other on unnatural tumors]. Printed in Venice by Donato Bertelli, 1563. 101 pages. 21 cm tall.  Fallopius was born in 1523 in Modena, Italy, to a lower noble family. The death of hisContinue reading "Anatomist Gabriel Fallopius | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library | January 2023 Book of the Month"

  • Popular Pharmacy Handbook of Medieval Europe | November Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on November 23, 2022 at 8:13 pm

    by Damien Ihrig, Curator, John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library MESUË THE YOUNGER (fl. ca. 1200?). Canones universales. First Giunta edition. Printed in Venice by Luca-Antonio Giunta, 1527. 388 leaves. 32 cm tall. Mesue’s works were an immediate hit. Some of the most famous western physicians of the time, including Petrus de Abano and Mondino dei Luzzi, wrote commentaries on Mesue’s work. Canones,Continue reading "Popular Pharmacy Handbook of Medieval Europe | November Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library"

  • Jonathan Reeder | Researcher in Ancient Mental Health | History of Medicine | Video Available

    by Sarah Andrews on November 16, 2022 at 6:26 pm

      Jonathan Reeder is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Classics at the University of Iowa. He teaches courses in ancient medicine and a variety of others concerning the ancient world. His research centers on the interface between medicine and philosophy in Greek and Latin literature.  Currently his focus is on ancient approachesContinue reading "Jonathan Reeder | Researcher in Ancient Mental Health | History of Medicine | Video Available"

Notes from the Rare Book Room:

An earlier series highlighting items from the collection.

  • Johannes Schltetus | Mini Exhibit June 6, 11-13, 18-20 | 1-4pm | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on June 5, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    JOHANNES SCULTETUS (1595-1645). Chei-roplotheke [Greek transliterated] . . . 1655. See a display of books by Johannes Schltetus and his medical professors Adriaan van de Spiegel and Hieronymus Fabricius at the John Martin Rare Book Room in June, 2018. John Martin Rare Book Room Monday-Wednesday: June 6-20, 2018 1:00-4:00 Or by Appointment,  319-335-9154 Scultetus receivedContinue reading "Johannes Schltetus | Mini Exhibit June 6, 11-13, 18-20 | 1-4pm | John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library"

  • Osteographia, The Anatomy of the Bones | April 2018 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on April 6, 2018 at 7:45 pm

    WILLIAM CHESELDEN (1688-1752). Osteographia; or, The anatomy of the bones. London: [n. publ.], 1733. Cheselden’s reputation as a teacher, clinician, and anatomist was well established during his lifetime, and he won great distinction in London’s hospitals. His work on human anatomy went through thirteen editions and became a standard textbook. His Osteographia, with its magnificent plates depictingContinue reading "Osteographia, The Anatomy of the Bones | April 2018 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library"

  • Frankenstein | John Martin Rare Book Room Annual Open House | Thurs. March 22, 5-8pm

    by Sarah Andrews on March 12, 2018 at 2:03 am

    John Martin Rare Book Room Open House Thursday, March 22 5-8pm Now in the 200th year since its publication, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus continues to raise questions about humanity, scientific ethics, and the place of the monster in our imaginations. This event features books and manuscripts from the John Martin Rare BookContinue reading "Frankenstein | John Martin Rare Book Room Annual Open House | Thurs. March 22, 5-8pm"

  • Curating Frankenstein | 200th Anniversary Talk by Peter Balestrieri | Thurs. March 22, 4-5pm @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on March 12, 2018 at 1:39 am

    In conjunction with the John Martin Rare Book Room Open House, Peter Balestrieri, Science Fiction and Popular Culture Curator, University of Iowa Libraries, will be giving a talk on curating Frankenstein at The Hardin Library conference room 401, on Thursday, March 22 from 4-5pm.  After the talk, you may view parts of our collections atContinue reading "Curating Frankenstein | 200th Anniversary Talk by Peter Balestrieri | Thurs. March 22, 4-5pm @Hardin Library"

  • Ancient Surgery in Early Modern Italy | History of Medicine Lecture | January 25, 5:30pm

    by Sarah Andrews on January 22, 2018 at 10:15 pm

      The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society invites you to a lecture by  Marquis Berrey, Associate Professor in Classics, University of Iowa Ancient Surgery in Early Modern Italy: Celsus, Benivieni, Morgagni Thursday, January 25, 2018, 5:30-6:30 MERF Room 2117 (Medical Education and Research Facility) European medical professionals from the 15th through the early 19thContinue reading "Ancient Surgery in Early Modern Italy | History of Medicine Lecture | January 25, 5:30pm"

  • November 2017 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room | Ars moriendi = The Art of Dying

    by Sarah Andrews on November 27, 2017 at 7:13 pm

    Ars moriendi. [Cologne, Heinrich Quentell, c. 1495] Although the author of Ars moriendi is not known, the book is believed to have been written in Southern Germany at the time of the Council of Constance (1414-1418). Ars moriendi, or The art of dying, was intended to instruct the reader on the proper modes of behaviorContinue reading "November 2017 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room | Ars moriendi = The Art of Dying"

  • Test Tube Babies During America’s Baby Boom : Artificial Insemination in Law & Medicine | HOM November Lecture | Thurs. Nov. 16, 6-7pm

    by Sarah Andrews on October 30, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society and The Hardin Library for the Health Sciences John Martin Rare Book Room invite you to hear Kara Swanson, J.D., PhD., Professor of Law, Northeastern University for the November, 2017 lecture. Thursday, November 16, 2017 6:00-7:00 Medical Education and Research Facility (MERF)  Room 2117 375 Newton Road,Continue reading "Test Tube Babies During America’s Baby Boom : Artificial Insemination in Law & Medicine | HOM November Lecture | Thurs. Nov. 16, 6-7pm"

  • Paracelsus, father of toxicology | October 2017 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on October 23, 2017 at 10:27 pm

    PARACELSUS (1493-1541). Opera, Bücher und Schrifften. Strasbourg: In Verlegung L. Zetzners seligen Erben, 1616. Philippus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is universally known as Paracelsus. He was born in Switzerland and educated at Basel. Paracelsus unorthodox ideas and teachings put him in conflict with the orthodox establishment of his revolutionary time and he spent most of hisContinue reading "Paracelsus, father of toxicology | October 2017 Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library"

  • World War I – Medical Issues at Home and in the Field | History of Medicine Lecture | Thurs. Oct. 26, 5:30-7pm

    by Sarah Andrews on October 7, 2017 at 11:30 pm

    The University of Iowa History of Medicine Society invites you to hear: World War I—Medical Issues at Home and in the Field Thursday, October 26, 2017 5:30-7:00 p.m. 2117 MERF (Medical Education and Research Facility) Panel Discussion: Memoirs from the Font Dr. Charles Hawtrey, Professor Emeritus, Department of Urology, University of Iowa Gas Warfare Dr.Continue reading "World War I – Medical Issues at Home and in the Field | History of Medicine Lecture | Thurs. Oct. 26, 5:30-7pm"

  • The Black Death: The Plague, 1331-1770 The Black Death: The Plague, 1331-1770 | online exhibit from The John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library

    by Sarah Andrews on May 22, 2017 at 3:04 pm

    The March, 2013 John Martin Rare Book Room open house featured books and art on The Plague. Alice M. Phillips edited the original exhibit materials and designed an online exhibit: The Black Death.