History of medical practice in Illinois - Bushnell Historical Society

464 History of Medical Practice in Illinoisthe Chicago Public Library would house the collections of the ChicagoMedical Society, the Medical Press Association and the HomeopathicRelief Association had failed, and "its promoters and the medical professionat large solicited the Trustees of the Newberry Library to accept as a giftthe collections already made, and to assume the charge of creating a medicalreference library with such cooperation as the profession could give. Thisresponsibility the Trustees assumed and appointed a superintendent ofthe medical department. ... A medical reference department to thisLibrary has therefore been inaugurated. ... A committee of eminentphysicians and surgeons residing in the city, on invitation of the Trustees,have kindly consented to give their advice in the selection of books andserials for this department."Three years later the superintendent of Newberry Library's medicaldepartment was able to give a glowing report of the magnitude in quantityand quality of its material. The phenomenal increase of size at its outsetwas largely brought about by the accretion of the "Jewell" and especiallyof the "Senn Collection."In 1906, the medical department of the Newberry Library closed itsdoors with the transfer of its books to the custody of the John CrerarLibrary. When this collection was received from the Newberry Library itcontained 28,432 volumes and 15,907 pamphlets accessioned, 979 duplicatevolumes and 6,188 duplicate pamphlets. For the cost of these and otherrecords, that library was partially reimbursed to the sum of $68,544.Transferred at the same time from the custody of Newberry Libraryby consent of the donor was the "Senn Collection." At this time it wasstated to consist of 10,698 volumes and 14,501 pamphlets.Libraries of County Medical Societies1. Morgan County .— There is no question that Jacksonville was the intellectualcenter of Illinois at the middle of the past century. Perhaps becauseof the influence of its college library, and certainly due to the initiativeand force of David Prince, the Medical Society of Morgan Countywas, it seems, the first among the county medical societies of the state toestablish a library for its members. At the meeting of this society in June1872, Dr. Prince made the motion of appointing a committee "to considerthe propriety of purchasing some Medical Periodicals for the use of itsmembers," and at the meeting in the following month a list of 19 periodicalswas presented. 18 19'In the August meeting of 1872, it was arranged to keep18 It is of interest to note that after a lapse of twenty-five years, there were only threejournals on the list which were considered of sufficient importance to be retained onthe list in 1897, although the list then was expanded to thirty."Black, Carl E. (Editor): The Journal of the Morgan County Medical Society, 1900.