author
John Henry Quinn
1860–1941
A British librarian and writer whose books helped explain the practical art of cataloguing at a time when public libraries were rapidly growing. His work is still of interest to readers curious about how libraries organized knowledge before the digital age.
2 Audiobooks
Library Cataloguing
by John Henry Quinn
Manual of Library Cataloguing
by John Henry Quinn
About the author
Born in 1860 and died in 1941, he is best known as a British librarian who wrote clear, practical guides on cataloguing and library work. Contemporary title pages identify him as librarian to the Chelsea Public Libraries in London and note that he had earlier served as Principal Cataloguing Assistant at the Liverpool Free Libraries.
His best-known books include Manual of Library Cataloguing and Library Cataloguing. They were written for librarians and library assistants, with a strong focus on the everyday problems of organizing collections, making catalogues useful, and treating cataloguing as skilled professional work rather than routine clerical labor.
Because so much of his surviving presence today comes through his professional manuals, the public record is a little thinner on personal details than on his work. Even so, his books offer a vivid snapshot of library practice in Britain around the turn of the twentieth century and show how seriously librarians were already thinking about access, order, and usability.