Meet our new Rare Books Librarian

Stephen Herrin, who already has a few exhibitions in his curating portfolio, has been appointed as the new Rare Books Librarian at the Matheson Library.

Hand-coloured illustration from John Gould's
A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, 1837-8

The Rare Books Collection is a valuable assortment of books, pamphlets, ephemera and realia assembled to support research at the University and beyond. Some highlights are a 1476 commentary of the Bible, Gould’s Birds of Australia, and the first English edition of Newton’s Principia. There are collections of politics, communism, the occult, artists’ books, Australian literature, science fiction, women’s studies, and many others representing social and historical movements and ideas.

“I am very proud to have been appointed the Rare Books Librarian here at Monash. It is a great honour to be given the opportunity to curate, build and promote this extraordinary collection," said Stephen.

"I was very fortunate to have worked with the previous Librarian, Richard Overell, for a number of years until his retirement. He had a great knowledge of books, an anecdote for everything, and was a true mentor for me.”

Stephen Herrin

Stephen has had a wide range of experience through his career. He holds a BA in Literature from the University of Wisconsin, an MA (Librarianship) and a PhD through the School of Information Management and Systems from Monash University. He has been a reference librarian at Deakin University and here at both the Matheson Library and Hargrave-Andrew Library, and spent three years as the Research Assistant on the History of the Book in Australia Project.

“I would like to invite any interested academics and librarians to the Rare Books Section to discuss the diverse collections and how we might assist your research or teaching.”

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