John Small was librarian of Edinburgh University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Background
The son of John Small and Margaret Brown his wife, he was born at Edinburgh in 1828. In the same year, on the death of his father, who was acting librarian of the university library, he succeeded to the post. He held the office, also in succession to his father, of acting librarian to the College of Physicians (Edinburgh), for which he prepared a catalogue in 1863.
Education
He was educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the university, where he graduated Master of Arts He was president of the Library Association in 1880, and on 21 April 1886 the university of Edinburgh gave him the degree of Doctor of Laws He was for some time treasurer of the university musical society.
Career
In 1847. In 1854 he obtained the full status of librarian, with an official residence. He also served for many years as assistant clerk to the Senatus Academicus and editor of the University Calendar. Small devoted his leisure time to literary work.
His first larger publication was a volume, English Metrical Homilies … Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, Edinburgh, 1862.
Thereafter his chief labour was expended on editing, with careful glossaries and indices, the works of early Scottish poets, viz. The Poetical of Gavin Douglas, 4 volumes
Edinburgh, 1874. Sir David Lyndesay"s Monarchie for the Early English Text Society (1865-1866), and The Poems of William Dunbar for the Scottish Text Society (1884–1892).
In 1885 he re-edited David Laing"s Remains of Early Scottish Poetry, prefixing a bibliographical notice of his predecessor. To the British and Foreign Evangelical Review he sent an elaborate article on the authorship of the Ode to the Cuckoo, and he contributed numerous papers to the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Society of Antiquaries.
He also gave assistance to Sir Alexander Grant in writing the History of Edinburgh University (1884). The William Dickson Prize is named in his honor.
The Munro scholarships and studentships at Queens" College, Cambridge are named in his honor.
After a long illness John Small died unmarried in Edinburgh on 20 August 1886, and was buried in the Grange cemetery in Edinburgh.
Membership
He was a member of the Smalls of Dirnanean.