John Henry Quinn

John Henry Quinn was a British librarian and writer whose surviving reputation rests on his practical books about cataloguing. Records on Wikisource place him in 1860–1941, and his published work shows a career closely tied to library organization and professional training.

The title pages of his books describe him as Librarian, Chelsea Public Libraries, London, and note that he was formerly Principal Cataloguing Assistant, Liverpool Free Libraries. By 1913 he was also presented as Librarian, Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea, a Library Association Examiner in Cataloguing, and a Lecturer in Librarianship at the London School of Economics.

His best-known works include Manual of Library Cataloguing (1899) and Library Cataloguing (1913). Both books are straightforward, working manuals rather than academic treatises, which helps explain why they still interest readers today: they capture the day-to-day craft of making libraries usable.