Two new exhibits on two very different subjects have been installed near the Hardin Library main entrance.  “His Wound is Mortal – Trauma Care, April 14, 1865” offers a look at the medical measure taken after the shooting of Abraham Lincoln, including excerpts from first-hand reports of the assassination and its aftermath.  The exhibit also raises the issue of whether or not the advances of present day trauma care might have saved the president’s life.

 

“Book Conservation—A Healing Art” is an introduction to book repair and preservation couched in medical terms.  Organized under categories such as, “anatomy,” “disability,” “therapy,” and “pandemic,” University of Iowa Conservator, Gary Frost provides descriptions and examples of books that need special care and protection to recover from various “illnesses.”  The display includes a cutaway model showing the structure of a book and several real-life examples of works that have been “rehabilitated” after various kinds of trauma.