History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

458 History of Medical Practice in IllinoisDuring the succeeding 47 years, this collection of old medical booksfrom Illinois College remained an integral part of the growing libraryof the Morgan County Medical Society. Throughout the greater extentof that period, its library was housed in the Carnegie Public LibraryBuilding in Jacksonville. Eventually the question of space became acute.To preserve for posterity the beautiful old volumes—"surgeries, earlymedical treatises, botanies, and herbals"— the major portion of the libraryof the Morgan County Medical Society was donated to the AmericanCollege of Surgeons Library in Chicago. 7 By the end of 1905, there werenearly 1800 books, all of them properly "accessioned, catalogued, plated,labeled and shelved." Presumably many, if not most, of the older worksamong them originally belonged to the medical department of IllinoisCollege. The oldest item among them is the "Idea Machinae HumanaeAnatomico-Physiologica ad Observationes Recentores" by Johannes MoritzHoffmann, published in 1703.That care was given to the upkeep and effectiveness of these books in thelibrary of Illinois College is indicated by the rules pasted in the front ofeach saying: "This book may be retainedweek. If kept longer withoutrenewal, a fine of 2 cents a day must be paid to the librarian. If lost orinjured, the price of the book must be paid."2. Rush Medical College.—The annual Rush Medical College cataloguefor the 1847-48 session has only one sentence about a library: 8 "TheCollege Library will be largely extended during the year." However, thereafterduring the first 50 years of its existence, the college announcementsoffer no information about the state of its library. Indeed, the statements inthe 1897 issue of The Corpuscle, the students' publication at the College,show that a usable reference library was non-existent there even at thatdate. Rush Medical College was swept into the stream of the revolution ofthinking about medical libraries which set in towards the end of the century,for the 1891-92 catalogue stated: "The late Professor J.Adams Allendonated his large and valuable library to the Presbyterian Hospital forthe special service of the staff. It may be used, by the permission of the superintendent,for reference by members of the profession and by students ofthe College." But despite the provisions in his bequest, his library evidentlydid not become available to students, for in a "Symposium on a Student'sLibrary" in the March 1897 issue of Tlie Corpuscle, John Robison wrote:"The idea of having a library accessible to the students is a very good one.Our revered president, Prof. J.Adams Allen, must have had this in viewwhen he bequeathed his large library to the Presbyterian Hospital, but7Library of the Morgan County (Illinois) Medical Society, Bull. A.C.S. vol. 26, p. 219,1941.8Annual Announcements of Rush Medical College, 1843-1900.