(Exhibit curated by Damien Ihrig, curator, John Martin Rare Book Room and Helen Spielbauer, creative coordinator, Hardin Library) 50 years ago this fall, the University of Iowa opened the Health Sciences Library, later named in 1988 after Dr. Robert C. Hardin. A former physician and professor of internal medicine, Dr. Hardin served as the dean of the College of Medicine and vice president of health affairs. The state-of-the-art facility replaced the out-of-date and overcrowded medical library in the Medical Laboratories building and served all the health sciences colleges, as well as the Univ ..read more

by Giselle Simón University Conservator Director, 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 restoration treatments usually involved either a complete rebinding or what is known as rebacking: replacing the spine material (usually leather) with new leather and then repositioning the old leather spine piece that contains the ..read more

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 Hardin gave lighting talks and presentations at the conference. Jennifer DeBerg, MLS User Services Librarian Lightning Talk: Authorship or Acknowledgement: A Complicated Question!   For librarians supporting systematic reviews, determining whether to request authorship, acknowledgment, or neither can be a conundrum. This talk presented an overview of the factors surrounding these decisions including a few cas ..read more

Greta NettletonJoin 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 on women’s health and those by or about women practitioners, including new acquisitions.  Lecture and open house free & open to the public. Ms. Nettleton, the author of The Quack’s Daughter: A True Story About the Private Life of a ..read more

Damien Ihrig 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 rare materials in the JMRBR, provides instruction and support to faculty who use JMRBR materials, and performs outreach and engagement to the University community and beyond. Until recently, he also supported several clinical departments in the Carver College of Medici ..read more

Damien Ihrig 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 rare materials in the JMRBR, provides instruction and support to faculty who use JMRBR materials, and performs outreach and engagement to the University community and beyond. Until recently, he also supported several clinical departments in the Carver College of Medici ..read more

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, in particular, was very influential. It was printed more times in the 15th century than works from several other influential authors, including ..read more

  Jonathan Reeder, PhD 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 approaches to mental health and the reception of Greco-Roman psychology.  Dr. Reeder holds a B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Classics from Florida State Un ..read more

by Damien Ihrig, MA, Curator John Martin Rare Book Room MÜTTER, Thomas Dent (1811–1859). A report on the operations for fissures of the palatine vault. Printed in Philadelphia by Merrihew & Thompson, 1843. 28 pages. 23 cm tall. The Mütter Museum in Philadelphia is celebrated for its collection of anatomical specimens of rare conditions, from the famous (and infamous), as well as medical instruments. The museum was founded with an original donation from the collection of Thomas Dent Mütter. Mütter was born in 1811 in Richmond, Virginia. Sickness is a common t ..read more

LOUIS, ANTOINE (1723-1792). Dissertation sur la question–comment se fait la transmission des maladies héréditaires? [Dissertation on the question–how are hereditary diseases transmitted?] and Observation et remarques sur les effets du virus cancéreux [Observation and remarks on the effects of the cancer virus], Printed in Paris at Chez Delaguette, 1749. 17 cm tall. Louis was born to a military surgeon family. His father was a surgeon-major, the senior surgeon of a regiment, at a military hospital. Louis apprenticed under his father and by 1743 had joined another regiment as a s ..read more