iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

Last Judgement: fol. 84v (look at the dead rising!)

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

the bones at the base of the cross, whoa

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

One of my patrons, St. Jerome! fol. 93v, and the MS Jerome with my retablo of St. Jerome at my desk (loved this).

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

THIS ONE IS COOL. Burial service: fol. 67v

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

Ownership inscription reading “liber Johannis Pullani ex dono Rechardi Bellarses" [John Pulian or Pulleyn of Scorton (1559-1618); Richard Belasyse of Great Haswell, Ludworth, and Owton, county Durham (d. 1599)]

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

Acquired from Jörn Günther Rare Books, my friend Sara Öberg Strådal was a HUGE help with description and cataloging (work which I did, building on Sara’s work). It was likely commissioned by an English patron (Kalendar with Thomas Becket’s feast day struck through and the Latin word “vacat” added.)

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

A belated Spencer Library #newacq thread here: a Book of Hours, Use of Sarum, created in circa 1430 (Pryce MS D1). A wonderful addition to our MSS holdings, and a good companion to the Vosper Hours. Let's start with the Crucifixion and the opening line of text: 📜 #libsky #rarebooks #booksky

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/09/2026

Ok! I'll be relying on the English speaking kindness of French speaking Switzerland!

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 31/08/2026

Currently cataloging a French revolutionary pamphlet, dated "L'an deuxieme de la liberte" e.g. 1793 (best I can deduce). But then the imprint statement at the end gives the year 1790 COME ON THE FRENCH LETS GET IT TOGETHER.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 20/08/2026

Bibliography: now done at never before seen heights!

My new standing desk at maximum height as a bit.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/07/2026

And the above Jerome is at my desk at work:

A painted image of St. Jerome at my desk at work, looking over a full page miniature painting of St. Jerome in a cataloged but not yet announced new acquisition that I cataloged. If you're reading this and want to know more, contact me via dm or email!

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/07/2026

Ok, one more - Charlie made this image of St. Jerome (patron saint of librarians) that sits at my desk and watches over me while I work:

A painted wooden image of St. Jerome, sitting under a starry night sky in the desert. He has five open books in front of him, and he is pointing at an angel blowing a trumpet. A lion is in the foreground.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/07/2026

You all probably know I collect Santos - we have five by Charlie, and this one of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (by Nick Otero) is watching over my office and me as I type this. She's the patroness of souls in purgatory (which you can see under her), reminds me to pray for the people that I have lost.

A white wall with a window to the left and low bookshelves to the right. The subject of the photograph is a painted wooden image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) holding the Christ child and a brown scapular. She is wearing a crown, and looks down with pity on chained people, representing souls, in purgatory.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/06/2026

Way too spot on for me, but also glad to have gotten Kepler!

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 02/06/2026

DEPLOY THE PORTABLE COLLATORS

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 28/05/2026

Two notebooks filled with bibliographical descriptions. Clearly doing a lot more of these now!

A hand holding a blue and a green notebook, both with a cover label sticker that says “bibliographical notes” and give the date ranges of the contents.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/05/2026

A recent-ish acquisition here at Spencer from Bruce McKittrick in my cataloging cradle today: a 17thC Italian MS applying the rules of gematria to Italian, drawing upon the popular Renaissance conception of Kabbalah as “white magic”: 📜 #libsky #rarebooks #booksky

First page of a manuscript in Italian. Paper is browned, as is the ink. It’s in a cradle and the manuscript is from the 17th century.

A page from the same manuscript (Italian, 17th century) but this page has a chart matching letters to numbers and a small manicule in the margin.

Another page from the same manuscript (Italian, 17th century) with a number triangle and a chart of Hebrew characters

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 23/04/2026

Stephanie (a PhD alum from KU) gave a very moving keynote about the importance and power of collecting, and was a super great guest judge for the Snyder contest.

A woman in red glasses and a man in a purple hoodie speaking with a student.

A woman speaking to a group of seated people, in front of a projected graphic for the Snyder Book Collecting Contest.

6 people, all dressed in business attire. All members of the Snyder committee.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 23/04/2026

Got the privilege to host my friend Stephanie Stillo (from LoC) here @kulibraries.bsky.social last week - she was the keynote speaker and guest judge of our Snyder Book Collecting Contest! I also facilitated a little informal Q and A with her for students and faculty...

A woman speaking to a man at the front of an audience. The woman is wearing brown trousers, a black shirt, and red glasses, and the man is wearing a green sport coat, tie, and button down shirt. The woman and man are laughing.

A woman laughing in response to a question. The woman is wearing a black shirt, and red glasses. The woman and man are laughing.

A seated woman speaking to an audience, next to a man who is also listening. The woman is wearing brown trousers, a black shirt, and red glasses, and the man is wearing a green sport coat, tie, and button down shirt. The woman and man are laughing.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 23/03/2026

I'm celebrating my birthday this week, and so I thought I'd share some of the things from the last year that I am especially proud of, or make me especially happy:

my dumb face under a grey Stetson Open Road. It's a selfie photo of me at the University of Kansas campus at sunrise. I am wearing a white Oxford cloth button down and a black French workman's jacket. I'm smiling because its my birthday week!

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 20/03/2026

My Wikchina has a fun place to ride on my way to work (and his new home in my cube at work):

A Hopi katsina wrapped in paper in the water bottle pocket of a dark green tote. The carving is by Bryan Quamahongnewa.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 18/03/2026

From the "hero image" for this show. So many problems with this - the AI dog whistle (but don't actually recognize AI!), conflation of technologies, and history as a reductive tag line/slogan.

A footnote for an AI generated image that is used as the key image in a library exhibition. it reads "This image was generated using modern digital technology. Like the printing press, telescope, or microscope before it, technology continues to influence how we interpret and visualize the world."

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 13/03/2026

New cube decoration, from our local (and kinda famous) local wood type/letterpress shop, ft one of my favorite modern groups:

Letterpress and screen printed concert poster for LA LOM printer by Hammerpress in Kansas City

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 05/03/2026

One was a serial entrepreneur, one is a Baptist preacher, and one was a petroleum geologist, so not super rough and tumble but my entrepreneur grandpa lived live with three shirt buttons undone, so that counts as something?

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 02/03/2026

I think we can all agree I know 1-2 things about books, including how to open them. I was, I confess, befuddled as to how to open it, a first for me… 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/02/2026

I low-key fell for this really great engraved portrait of Whitman, as described in note 1 in Myerson, on thick paper and lacking frame. Elspeth and I see a faint plate mark visible to left of image of Whitman.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/02/2026

Ours is in the second state of the binding, without the gilt border, but in the green cloth:

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 09/02/2026

Sharing the re-cat'd + previously unreported 1855 1st ed of Whitman's Leaves of Grass at Spencer @kulibraries.bsky.social ! We've had this copy for decades, but in the card cat - not in our online catalog: 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks : kuprimo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/...

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 04/02/2026

Cataloging the first edition (second issue) of this pretty darn important book…

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 27/01/2026

As ever, Russell Maret’s New Years greeting is extremely relevant and welcome.

Printed broadside on my desk with a quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter,”
Reading: Over the entrance hovers an enormous specimen of the American eagle, with outspread wings, a shield before her breast, and, if I recollect aright, a bunch of intermingled thunderbolts and barbed arrows in each claw. With the customary infirmity of temper that characterizes this unhappy fowl, she appears, by the fierceness of her beak and eye and the general truculency of her attitude, to threaten mischief to the inoffensive community; and especially to warn all citizens, careful of their safety, against intruding on the premises which she overshadows with her wings. Nevertheless, vixenly as she looks, many people are seeking, at this very moment, to shelter themselves under the wing of the federal eagle; imagining, I presume, that her bosom has all the softness and snugness of an eider-down pillow. But she has no great tenderness, even in her best of moods, and, sooner or later,—oftener soon than late,—is apt to fling off her nestlings with a scratch of her claw, a dab of her beak, or a rankling wound from her barbed arrows.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/01/2026

"Anno virginei partus millesimo quingentesimo decimoquinto die vo.xxvi. mensis Januarij"

Printer's statement or colophon printed in red at the end of the decretals.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/01/2026

And OH MAN someone really really really really annotated this:

An extremely heavily annotated leaf of Gregory's decretals, there is literally no free space in the margin - it's even annotated in the gutter!

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/01/2026

This chart, which I am sure someone knows what it is:

A woodcut illustration potentially of Jesus, with a taxonomy of subjects in front of him.

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Jason W. Dean @jasonwdean.com · 15/01/2026

How many tiaras? Three! It must be... POPE GREGORY IX and his decretals (Printed in Lyon, by Fradin in 1515) (new acquisition here at Spencer / @kulibraries.bsky.social from @quaritch1847.bsky.social) 📜 #bookhistory #booksky #libsky #rarebooks :