Medical Bookplates (Ex Libris) Continue to Fascinate

Description

Poster presented at the Midwest Chapter / Medical Library Association annual conference in Ypsilanti, MI, October 16, 2017. (Joint Meeting of the Midwest Chapter/MLA and Michigan Health Sciences Libraries Association (MHSLA)). The poster was presented again at the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HLSI) annual conference in Bloomington, IL, October 26, 2017.

Abstract

Library staffs, be they solo, collection development /management or other, often scrutinize print books for weeding (downsizing) purposes and when reviewing donations. A library's criteria guide what to keep: books' potential (not necessarily rare book) value - in the discipline or to the institution, significant local authorship, or importance in filling a collection niche, etc. Bookplates, when present, can provide clues about provenance (history of ownership). A Book's section Huffington Post article on April 2, 2014 mentioned other attractions of bookplates (ex libris): "...one of the most bookish literary accessories" and "At its most basic, a bookplate is a slip of paper bearing the name of the books owner; at its most grand, it may be a veritable work of art as well". Interest in library and individuals' bookplates in libraries is evidenced by books and articles written through the years, and more recently, by digitized bookplates as deposits into institutional repositories. This poster provides examples of individual owners' 20th century bookplates from a library's collections that are of interest because of medical themes, the individuals' ties to the medical school, or other reasons. In an increasingly online world, the ex libris era may be fading or evolving, but the world of bookplates continues to be interesting to explore, research, appreciate, and value.

Other

original_citation: Medical Bookplates (Ex Libris) Continue to Fascinate / Ramune K. Kubilius [poster]. Presented at the Midwest Chapter / Medical Library Association annual conference in Ypsilanti, MI on October 16, 2017 and at the Health Science Librarians of Illinois annual conference in Bloomington, IL on October 26, 2017.

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