This Women’s History Month, the John Martin Rare Book Room highlights a book from the pioneering 19th-century Dutch physician and activist Aletta Jacobs. Born in 1854 in the Netherlands, Jacobs chafed at the status quo and the limited educational opportunities for women in the Netherlands. She rejected the standard for Dutch girls at the time, “finishing school,”Continue reading “Pioneering female physican Aletta Jacobs | Notes from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Category Archives: John Martin Rare Book Room
Notes on Johann Christian Reil, the first psychiatrist, from the John Martin Rare Book Room
Reil, was an 18th-century medical multihyphenate: physician-anatomist-physiologist. He was also the first true psychiatrist by virtue of coining the term “psychiatry” (or “psychiatrie” in German). His contributions to anatomy include the first description of the arcuate fasciculus in 1809 and the identification of anatomical features such as Reil’s finger (later known as Raynaud syndrome) and the Islands of Reil in the cerebral cortex.Continue reading “Notes on Johann Christian Reil, the first psychiatrist, from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
Save the date for the John Martin Rare Book Room open house on April 24
The annual John Martin Rare Book Room (JMRBR) open house will be on Thursday, April 24, 2025. All are invited to drop in from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to tour the space and explore staples of the JMRBR collection. There will also be special materials on display, such as John Gerard’s The herball and Brunschwig’sContinue reading “Save the date for the John Martin Rare Book Room open house on April 24”
Using snow for anesthesia | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library
BARTHOLIN, THOMAS (1616-1680). De nivis usu medico observationes variae. Printed in Hafniae [Copenhagen] by Matthias Godiche for Peter Haubold [bookseller], 1661. 16 cm tall. Born into a family of distinguished scientists and academics, Bartholin was the second of six sons of Caspar Bartholin the Elder, a prominent physician and anatomist. The Bartholin family, including Thomas’s brother ErasmusContinue reading “Using snow for anesthesia | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library”
19th Century Philippines Herbal | July 2024 Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library
BLANCO, MANUEL (1779–1845). Flora de filipinas. Printed in Manila at the Santo Tomas press, 1837. 21 cm tall. Manuel María Blanco Ramos was born on Nov. 24, 1779, in Navianos de Alba, a small village in the province of Zamora, Spain. Blanco grew up in Spain, influenced by King Charles III’s commitment to humanism andContinue reading “19th Century Philippines Herbal | July 2024 Book of the Month from the John Martin Rare Book Room @Hardin Library”
Life in the sick room: essays | challenging gender norms for women | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room
MARTINEAU, HARRIETT (1802-1876). Life in the sick-room: Essays. Printed in Boston by L.C. Bowles and W. Crosby, 1844. 20 cm tall. Martineau was born in 1802 into a progressive Unitarian family in Norwich. Despite the societal expectations that confined her to domestic roles, Harriet’s intellect and determination were undeniable. In 1823, she challenged gender normsContinue reading “Life in the sick room: essays | challenging gender norms for women | Book of the month from the John Martin Rare Book Room”
In pictures: 50 years of Hardin Library for the Health Sciences
(Exhibit curated by Damien Ihrig, curator for the 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 asContinue reading “In pictures: 50 years of Hardin Library for the Health Sciences”
The Fabri-c of Our (Book) Lives | Conservation Corner
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
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
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”