Graphic design student Kaelyn Corkery completed an internship in Special Collections during the spring 2025 semester.

In the beginning, I did not know exactly what to expect from my internship at Special Collections. I lacked a background in the library setting with my major being graphic design, but after taking an art history class that specialized in early art prints and methods, I found myself absolutely enamored with the history within its walls. What began in Special Collections as more of a curious exploration of resources quickly formed into a narrative of medical industry progress and persistence. Seeing all of this history caused me to ask myself how things came to be, and what was the journey the world took from the past to the present? That very question became the heart of my final display—a look into medical treatments from the 1600s and 1800s and how they shaped the medical industry we rely on today. Using imagery and first-hand text, I hoped to document this path and provide a clear insight into the beginnings of modern medicine.

My exhibit, “Cures & Concoctions: A Historical Look into Health, Healing, & Remedies,” explores a wide variety of medical treatment methods from the past. There is an entire section within Special Collections that contains a multitude of medical journals, essays, research, and guides that have fallen out of use as the industry progressed. I delved into these roots, not expecting to find a narrative between any of them. Most methodologies I read into are obsolete in today’s world. Things like arsenic being used to treat asthma and bloodletting with leeches have been left in the past.

The most interesting parts of my research were things I found that are still in use today. Through these rare books, I found the beginnings of treatments with EMS (electrical muscle stimulation), which is used to assist a patient in regaining muscle strength and function. Herbal remedy journals slowly began to incorporate ways to treat mild ailments, then recipes for medicines, eventually becoming a compendium full of pharmaceutical medicine that physicians could reference during treatment. All these ideas and books are included in the exhibit to reveal a story that anyone can follow.

While I did not start out my college career interested in working with old books and prints, I am so fortunate that I had the opportunity to do so. I have always been interested in art history, which compelled me to take the seminar Renaissance and Baroque Art: The History of Printed Images with Dr. Saskia Beranek. It was through this course that I was introduced to Milner’s Special Collections Department and got to work with and suggest purchases for their print teaching collection. Learning about the tumultuous history of the printed image and just how lucky Illinois State is to have so many in its collection compelled me to reach out and ask for an internship so I could further immerse myself in this topic. I did not end up working with prints during my internship, but being able to work with physical pieces of history and learning how to use a seemingly random collection of books to make a cohesive narrative taught me invaluable lessons about designing exhibitions and educating the public. Rebecca Fitzsimmons (the Special Collections librarian who oversaw my internship) was open and willing to teach me about anything I was interested in or had questions about. In one semester I’ve learned what metadata is and how to use it, what tools and equipment are needed to set up a display, and ethics of the digital humanities profession.

I feel that it is important to look at the past to inform our future, and exploring the journey of the medical profession via primary sources did just that. Engaging with the past and keeping an open mind can lead to better awareness and critical thinking skills. This experience with Special Collections will serve as a foundational building block in my career, and I am so excited to share my work and story with you.

The “Cures & Concoctions” exhibit is on display in the Milner Library Special Collections Reading Room through December 15, 2025.