John Henry Adams
John Henry Adams
Librarian II, Research and Instruction Librarian
Special Collections
UASCDS, Rare Books & Special Collections
- Master of Library Science, Indiana University, 2019
- Ph.D., English Literature, Arizona State University, 2015
- Master of Arts, English & Comparative Literature, University of Cincinnati, 2010
- Bachelor of Arts, Comparative Literature, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 2007
Contact
- 408 Ellis Library
- (573) 882-1821
- j.adams@missouri.edu
About Me
I started on my path to librarianship during my PhD in English literature at Arizona State University, where I wrote a dissertation focusing on representations of books in sixteenth-century England. I then attended Indiana University for my MLS with a specialization in rare books and manuscripts. After completing my studies, I came to work here in Special Collections at the University of Missouri. I co-teach class sessions, working especially with faculty from the English and German & Russian Studies departments. I additionally provide assistance to patrons in the reading room and prepare exhibits highlighting the collections at the Special Collections.
Recent Publications and Presentations
Publications
- Adams, John Henry, Joseph Sabo, and Caleb Ashlock. “Attack of the Collational Formula.” November 2023
- –“Introduction: Know Thy Enemy.”
- –“Before the Colon: Fangs of the Format.”
- –“After the Colon: Collating the Beast.”
- –“After the Colon: The Dreaded Parenthesis.”
- –“After the Dollar Sign: The Sinister Statement of Signing.”
- Adams, John Henry, Michaelle Dorsey, and Joseph Sabo. “How to Handle Items in Special Collections.” October 2023.
- Adams, John Henry and Joseph Sabo. “Parts of the Book.” October 2023
- Adams, John Henry and Joseph Sabo. “Quirks of Printing.” October 2023.
- Adams, John Henry. “Shelving Special Collections Materials by Size.” RBM: A Journal of Rare Books, Manuscripts, and Cultural Heritage, no. 1 (May 2023): 9-24.
- Adams, John Henry and Macy Love. “Life Among the Shelves.” Podcast. Nine episodes. August-October 2022
- Adams, John Henry, Kelli Hansen, Nav Khanal, and Joseph Sabo. “Special Collections: Handling Rare Materials Module.” August 2021.
- Adams, John Henry. Review of Women and the Temperance Movement Primary Source Set, by Melissa Strong, American Archivist, May 2021.
- Adams, John Henry. Review of Numbered Lives: Life and Death in Quantum Media, by Jacqueline Wernimont, Information & Culture 55, no.2 (2020): 196-197.
- Adams, John Henry. “Isabella Whitney and Textual Identity.” In New Ways of Looking at Old Texts, VI, edited by Arthur Marotti, 75-96. Tempe, AZ: Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 2020).
- Review of Numbered Lives: Life and Death in Quantum Media, by Jacqueline Wernimont, Information & Culture 55, no. 2 (2020): 196-197.
- McAllister, Lorrie and John Henry Adams, “Designing a Bright Future for Print Collections.” Against the Grain (June 2018): 32-33.
- Review of The Self as Subject: Autoethnographic Research into Identity, Culture, and Academic Librarianship, edited by Anne-Marie Deitering, Robert Schroeder, and Richard Stoddart, portal: Libraries and the Academy 18, no. 2 (April 2018): 237-238.
Professional Associations
- American Library Association
- Association of College and Research Libraries (Rare Books and Manuscripts Section)
- American Printing History Association
- Bibliographical Society of America
- TPS Collective
Areas of Expertise
- Book arts
- History of the book (esp. European and North American)
- History of cartography
- Medieval manuscripts
- Hand press printing
- British Literature, esp. 800-1800
- German Literature, esp 1100-1800
- Rare books reference and bibliography