Jason W. Dean
@jasonwdean.com
Librarian + bibliographer.
Associate Librarian, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Website: https://www.jasonwdean.com/
Faculty Page: https://spencer.lib.ku.edu/people/jason-dean
Newsletter: https://twohalfsheets.substack.com/
Associate Librarian, Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas.
Website: https://www.jasonwdean.com/
Faculty Page: https://spencer.lib.ku.edu/people/jason-dean
Newsletter: https://twohalfsheets.substack.com/
Why, yes break is treating me well, thank you.
November 27, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Why, yes break is treating me well, thank you.
Working on a some fun stuff for a post next week with @needrain.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Working on a some fun stuff for a post next week with @needrain.bsky.social
Cataloging a book in signatures, mostly unopened, untrimmed, and unbound. As one does. 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
October 30, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Cataloging a book in signatures, mostly unopened, untrimmed, and unbound. As one does. 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
Good morning from Diné Bikéyah.
(Mostly offline till Sunday)
(Mostly offline till Sunday)
October 20, 2025 at 1:59 PM
Good morning from Diné Bikéyah.
(Mostly offline till Sunday)
(Mostly offline till Sunday)
Anyhow, because it works (ish) here's a couple more photos. What does it *do* and how does it work? Stay tuned for a blog post next month!
October 17, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Anyhow, because it works (ish) here's a couple more photos. What does it *do* and how does it work? Stay tuned for a blog post next month!
Working on a blog post with my colleague Adrienne about the Hinman Collator, and so 3 of us went upstairs (with trepidation) to see if the Spencer collator still works - IT DOES!* 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
*except the flasher/oscillator, which is the whole crux of the machine...
*except the flasher/oscillator, which is the whole crux of the machine...
October 17, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Working on a blog post with my colleague Adrienne about the Hinman Collator, and so 3 of us went upstairs (with trepidation) to see if the Spencer collator still works - IT DOES!* 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
*except the flasher/oscillator, which is the whole crux of the machine...
*except the flasher/oscillator, which is the whole crux of the machine...
Beginning an 11 item Welsh bound with…
October 9, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Beginning an 11 item Welsh bound with…
Sometimes bibliography looks like this, and by extension, rare book cataloging. 4 OCLC records, 3 secondary sources, flashlight for watermarks, etc: all to determine that our copy of “Cryes of London” is from 1689, from the fifth edition, first impression: 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
October 6, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Sometimes bibliography looks like this, and by extension, rare book cataloging. 4 OCLC records, 3 secondary sources, flashlight for watermarks, etc: all to determine that our copy of “Cryes of London” is from 1689, from the fifth edition, first impression: 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
Greetings, fellow Jerome person (from my desk)
October 1, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Greetings, fellow Jerome person (from my desk)
Toured our offsite high density annex for @kulibraries.bsky.social today: WILD. Was not ready for the sheer scale of the place, but loved how cold they keep it! 2.3 (ish) million items… and growing every day.
September 25, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Toured our offsite high density annex for @kulibraries.bsky.social today: WILD. Was not ready for the sheer scale of the place, but loved how cold they keep it! 2.3 (ish) million items… and growing every day.
Thank you! I haven’t messed with it yet, but here’s how it stands before messing about with it
September 24, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Thank you! I haven’t messed with it yet, but here’s how it stands before messing about with it
Also got to see their Sidereus. A really nice lightly trimmed copy, worth the moon etchings supplied by hand on pasted in paper! Long term work on the revision of Paul Needham’s excellent census with Nick Wilding…
September 10, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Also got to see their Sidereus. A really nice lightly trimmed copy, worth the moon etchings supplied by hand on pasted in paper! Long term work on the revision of Paul Needham’s excellent census with Nick Wilding…
And here is the Royal Danish Library’s copy of the 1725 Historia Coelestis. Hoping Rev Flamsteed looks kindly on our work. This copy turned up some interesting material, including the binding with the cipher of Christian the 7th!
September 10, 2025 at 12:18 PM
And here is the Royal Danish Library’s copy of the 1725 Historia Coelestis. Hoping Rev Flamsteed looks kindly on our work. This copy turned up some interesting material, including the binding with the cipher of Christian the 7th!
AIB, day 3: I’m peeling off till dinner tonight, as I am returning to to Danish Royal Library to see, describe, and make notes of their Sidereus Nuncius, and their 1725 Historia Coelestis.
September 10, 2025 at 7:43 AM
AIB, day 3: I’m peeling off till dinner tonight, as I am returning to to Danish Royal Library to see, describe, and make notes of their Sidereus Nuncius, and their 1725 Historia Coelestis.
Impressive levels of Tycho Brahe this morning at the Danish Royal Library, descriptions in alt text
September 9, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Impressive levels of Tycho Brahe this morning at the Danish Royal Library, descriptions in alt text
Yesterday we visited the Amalienborg Palace, and the King’s reference library… check alt text for descriptions!
September 9, 2025 at 5:39 AM
Yesterday we visited the Amalienborg Palace, and the King’s reference library… check alt text for descriptions!
Greetings from Copenhagen! Danish book photos to come!
September 7, 2025 at 7:49 AM
Greetings from Copenhagen! Danish book photos to come!
Just picked up my freshly altered tuxedo in time for the AIB congress: see you soon, Copenhagen!
September 3, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Just picked up my freshly altered tuxedo in time for the AIB congress: see you soon, Copenhagen!
"If the rule you followed brought you to this... of what use was the rule?"
(From soon to be Spencer rare book, A1632)
(Also, I wish I could slap this compositor)
📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
(From soon to be Spencer rare book, A1632)
(Also, I wish I could slap this compositor)
📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
September 3, 2025 at 2:57 PM
"If the rule you followed brought you to this... of what use was the rule?"
(From soon to be Spencer rare book, A1632)
(Also, I wish I could slap this compositor)
📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
(From soon to be Spencer rare book, A1632)
(Also, I wish I could slap this compositor)
📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks
A flavor: here’s Ian Ridpqth talking about the Flamsteed “Atlas Coelestis”, annotated and corrected by Caroline and William Herschel, in the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social collection!
September 3, 2025 at 1:09 PM
A flavor: here’s Ian Ridpqth talking about the Flamsteed “Atlas Coelestis”, annotated and corrected by Caroline and William Herschel, in the @royalastrosoc.bsky.social collection!
Mans is all fun and games until the 20th c rebinder decided to put the title page and one of the prelims from vol. 1 randomly in the final signature of volume 2????? 📜
August 28, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Mans is all fun and games until the 20th c rebinder decided to put the title page and one of the prelims from vol. 1 randomly in the final signature of volume 2????? 📜
Saw this mans while cataloging a gift book, soon to be Spencer SC Annex 1212. 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky
August 28, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Saw this mans while cataloging a gift book, soon to be Spencer SC Annex 1212. 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky
Clearly one of my predecessors here at Spencer had a lovely hand, as seen in the shelf mark cards box: 📜
August 27, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Clearly one of my predecessors here at Spencer had a lovely hand, as seen in the shelf mark cards box: 📜
Bonus: this engraved shelf mark label!
August 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Bonus: this engraved shelf mark label!