Jobs For Medievalists Melvin R. Seiden Curator and Department Head, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts (Full-time) The Morgan Library & Museum invites applications for the position of Melvin R. www.themedievalacademyblog.org/jobs-for-med...

A lot going on in this architectural woodcut…

Books I saw at work: last week and @digitalscriptorium.bsky.social Annual Meeting today!

JOB ALERT: Assistant Professor of Art at Smith College, focusing on artists’ books and artist publications: apply.interfolio.com/173234?fbcli...

List three things you can talk about for three hours without prep 1) the medieval manuscript trade in northeastern Ohio 2) Lemonade (Beyoncé, 2017) 3) handmade/luxury paper (historical and present)

Fun things in (and on!) books used in today’s History of the Book scavenger hunt.

Stumbled across my 19-year old handwriting while shelving manuscript fragments! Back from my time as a student worker reorganizing the fragment housing—when the collection was a lot smaller than it is now!

Books I saw at work: last week!

Spotted in the back of the stacks!

Ah, to pull the largest book from the literal bottom of the stack. But, very very large (and colonial) engraved prints await!

Possibly my favorite author field ever in our catalog: “Person of quality”

I have a new favorite archival item!

Back from Oxonmoot and digesting everything I've read, heard, and learned and had to revisit Lee's article, especially after having finally finished reading the whole of Lord of the Rings. @mollyostertag.bsky.social www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-...

One of today’s collection research tasks: finding examples of blackletter in “non-substantial English-language texts” from the handpress era for our History of the Book course. A favorite find:

So excited to be starting my new position as the Instructional Services Specialist at the Ohio State University Thompson Library Special Collections today! Since I’ll be back in the stacks, you’ll be seeing lots of rare books and manuscripts very soon…

Applications are open for the post of Conservator (Book and Paper) at Cambridge University Library! For full details and to apply, click here: https://loom.ly/VUgy3Uo The closing date for applications is Sunday 7 September 2025.

Good morning Bluesky! I'm boosting an opportunity to run the special collections and archives division at Case Western Reserve University. You have a great team, exciting collections, and supportive peers. Can answer questions ❤️ @sharpnews.bsky.social @bibsoc.bsky.social @bibsocamer.bsky.social

Codicologist nerd moment today: I’m proofreading a spreadsheet in which I’ve been cataloging a collection of premodern manuscripts, and upon arriving at a new column, thought to myself: “damn, I love me some ‘physical description miscellaneous’”.

Hi everyone, As part of my dissertation, I am researching audiobook narration. If you have listened to an audiobook within the last two years, or have previously been a frequent audiobook user, I would really appreciate your thoughts! You can find the survey here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

For this month’s blog, DS Graduate Fellow @rosemccandless.bsky.social considers the Peripheral Manuscripts Project, the missions of PMP and DS, and the value of smaller and Midwestern collections: digital-scriptorium.org/about/blog/2...

Emmett Till would be 84 today. Not 114. Not 104. 84. He would be my uncle. Not great-great or great uncle. One of my parents' siblings. This is why we remember.

So honored and grateful to have my book collection, and more importantly, my philosophy about rare books, featured on CPR news!

Browsing the stacks this morning and starting to get slightly concerned…

Finally got around to doing a first draft of an infographic/drawing on the basics of handling rare books :)

Yesterday a close friend encountered ICE at work (city nature center). Trucks of fully armed agents who, after pulling down hoods and blocking exit from the parking lot, eventually drove off with jaunty waves and siren blares. Law enf. are LAUGHING at the power they hold over us and our siblings.

This is what happens when people stop reading science fiction!

"i asked grok" "i asked chatgpt" yeah well i asked carl sagan and he said the greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge 🧪

*Jobs klaxon* A fantastic opportunity to train future generations of book & paper conservators and be part of the dynamic team at the @uofglasgow.bsky.social's Kelvin Centre for Conservation & Cultural Heritage Research. www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/lecturer...

So tickled by the colophon of this 1899 Essex House edition of Pilgrim’s Progress—“This is the third book printed at the Essex House Press, which was founded by Laurence Hodson and C. R. Ashbee, in the hope to keep living the traditions of good printing that William Morris had revived” 1/

One of my favorite artist’s books/design bindings ever—“A Fable” by Sialia Rieske (Carpe Noctum, 2003). This incredible deluxe full leather binding is only one of 8, housed in the custom-designed box complete with fun clasps! The binding is a true work of art. (Excuse my bad video!)

I haven't read the piece (but I will! I have the book) but my immediate response is: if digital copies *can* stand in the place of the real thing, and if they *are* "good enough" to return, then it should be no issue for the originals to be sent back and the copies to stay.

One of my all-time favorite manuscripts is Ohio State, MS.MR.Frag.63—a fragmentary 13th-c. Bible produced in Oxford. One of its most interesting features is the inclusion of replacements to excised portions of illuminated initials, done in a similar—but clearly not matching—style.

“For generations, libraries, archives, and cultural institutions have been the guardians of knowledge and the catalysts for human progress. Together, we will work to strengthen the public knowledge ecosystem and ensure that the transformative power of information remains accessible to all.” -CH

Me when people ask what I actually *do* with the manuscripts when I’m studying them

Does anyone have a pdf copy of Paul Needham’s “The Bradshaw Method: Henry Bradshaw’s Contribution to Bibliography” that they might be willing to share with me?? #bibliography #manuscriptstudies

An incredible find! Yay archives and yay abolition :) Hoping a digital version is publicly available soon! Wishing funding upon the AB archive.

This is cool. Just because we are accustomed to mummies (human bodies, let us not forget!) being displayed in Western museums—typically acquired through colonial channels—doesn’t mean it’s right.

Me writing this blog post:

New to the DS blog: DS Graduate Fellow @rosemccandless.bsky.social follows a trail of connections between manuscripts and their formers owners made possible through the DS Catalog, with some expert insight from @laurajcleaver.bsky.social! Read here: digital-scriptorium.org/about/blog/2...

Interesting inscription in a copy of "A justification of separation from the Church of England ..." (1639): "Daniel Parker at the white glass-house in Winchester yard in Southwarke Cost 3s". I've not been able to locate this (presumed) bookseller ... anyone come across him? #bookhistory #earlymodern

Happy Juneteenth! Peace and liberation to all who fight for what’s right. I’m spending the holiday with Dan Hicks’ phenomenal new book on the monumentalization of white supremacy (among other things), which I sneakily got ahead of its US release via biblio.com!

Alright, since we're here, let's talk about the Josephinum Bible! (Context: two leaves are currently for sale at Les Enluminures.) I first discovered this manuscript in 2018, while working with @ejjohnson.bsky.social at Ohio State. Thread!

Interested to see some leaves from the Josephinum Bible available for sale at Les Enluminures—I’ve been working on reconstructing this Ms for the past 8 years and am always happy to see leaves resurface, even for a short time!

Lovely little piece about National History Day. Let me just gush about how phenomenal NHD is, for kids, for history, for education, etc. (Apologies for lack of gift link! Hopefully this thread will give you enough info.) @nationalhistoryday.bsky.social

#OnThisDay 1215 King John was forced to concede Magna Carta. A contemporary chronicler summed up the problem with him.

Officially Rose McCandless, MLIS! I should probably return my library books…

Ran into the Blackfish (recently in Dept. Q also, Clive something?) in Edinburgh Waverley (2018) and took this very chaotic selfie before running to my train. He was so excited to be recognized and I was so excited to meet my favorite GoT character!

PHENOMENAL 🧵.

Can’t quite believe the change in this guy—first pic is from 30 May 2024 and second is 30 May 2025. I think he’s probably three times taller and every leaf you see in photo two is new growth in the past year!

I found the description in the Digital Scriptorium Catalog—ofc I did, I work there, but. Institutional websites are hard to navigate! The DS Catalog is such a good way to navigate more quickly to a manuscript’s institutional data a lot of the time. @digitalscriptorium.bsky.social