I have been remiss in my blogging but vow to be more consistent with announcing important news about the Rare Books and Manuscripts Library. In particular, our new Associate Curator, Eric Johnson, introduced himself when I should have made such an announcement. Eric has been with us just over a month and we have had many productive and enlightening talks. You can see from Eric’s earlier blog, that his education and experience are exceptional. And, I can emphasize that his personal presence is every bit as impressive as his paper credentials. Eric is ever thinking and planning. For instance, he has brought forward the idea of a summer rare books “academy,” which would be offered to Columbus area youth. We have met with a supporter of Rare Books who would also be interested in launching children’s programming, an activity that Eric has extensvie experience with. Eric will be working closely with John King, Distinguished Professor of English and Religious Studies, in his Reformation History class this Fall quarter and will assist Richard Firth Green, Humanities Distinguished Professor of English, in a medieval manuscripts class in the Spring of 2009. I hope that many of you will meet or contact Eric in the days ahead.
September 29th, 2008
Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a quick moment to introduce myself. I’m Eric Johnson, the newly appointed Associate Curator for Rare Books and Manuscripts at The Ohio State University Libraries. I’m delighted to join the Buckeye family and I’m looking forward to promoting the appreciation and use of our collections to all our users, be they faculty, students, researchers, or the general public. I’m specifically responsible for overseeing our collections of medieval, Reformation, renaissance, and early modern collections, so contact me should you have any questions related to these fields.
Prior to arriving at OSU I worked as a Curatorial Assistant at Princeton University’s Department of Rare Books and Special Collections. I have a B.A. in English from the University of Pennsylvania; a M.L.I.S. from Rutgers University; and a M.A. and Ph.D. from the interdisciplinary Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of York (U.K.). My research and reading interests span a wide variety of topics, from medieval preaching to 20th-century military propaganda produced for children, and I’m always interested in learning more about other people’s work. So please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you think there’s any way that either OSU’s world-class Rare Books and Manuscripts Library or I can help you.
I hope to see you in the reading room!
Eric J. Johnson
September 26th, 2008
