As a proud ambassador organization of the Network of the National Library of Medicine’s Region 6 Partner Outreach Program, the Ruth Lilly Medical Library is currently hosting the National Library of Medicine exhibit, Care and Custody: Past Responses to Mental Health. This traveling banner exhibit explores the treatment of people with mental health conditions throughout history, especially in the United States, bringing to light the tension that has existed between care and custody, and highlights the role that physicians, advocates, and government agencies have played in shaping mental health policies and treatment over the past 200 years. A companion digital gallery further explores relevant materials from the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine.

In support of the traveling exhibit, the Ruth Lilly Medical Library, in partnership with the Indiana Medical History Museum, has developed a local exhibit display (Care and Custody at Central State Hospital) which tells the story of the evolution of the care and treatment of individuals with mental illness at Indiana’s Central State Hospital between 1827 and 1994. The exhibit features artifacts, photographs, and other items from the library’s History of Medicine Collection and from the Indiana Medical History Museum’s collection.

These exhibits are currently on display on the first floor of the library until April 28th, after which they will move to the Indianapolis Special Collections Room located on the 6^th floor of the Indianapolis Public Library’s Central Library until May 18, 2024.