NLM Traveling Exhibition Courtesy of the National Library of Medicine.

Galter Library is hosting the National Library of Medicine’s (NLM) traveling exhibit Outside/Inside: Immigration, Migration, and Health Care in the United States from March 13 – April 22, 2023. The traveling exhibition was developed and produced by the National Library of Medicine and guest curated by historian, author, and educator Beatrix Hoffman, PhD, (Northern Illinois University) and exhibition designer, HealyKohler Design. 

The exhibition is displayed through a series of 6 standing posters and includes a companion website that incorporates historical images and period documents that trace the changing experiences of immigrants and migrants in healthcare over the last 130 years. Visitors will be taken back in time to the era of New Immigration (1890-1924) when medical inspection was prioritized over medical care for the 20 million people who immigrated to the United States. The exhibition identifies some of the key individuals, cultural shifts, and pivotal historical moments that created pathways to more effective public health practices for immigrant populations.

The Henry Street Visiting Nurse Service organized Mother’s Clubs to educate expectant mothers with a course of talks and demonstrations on maintaining healthy pregnancies. Greenwich Mothers’ Club of the Henry Street Settlement, Lower East Side, New York City, ca. 1932. Courtesy National Library of Medicine.

Outside/Inside: Immigration, Migration, and Health Care in the United States provides a unique understanding of the way that Immigrants advocated for their own health and rights throughout U.S. history. From public health campaigns to the establishment of hospitals, clinics, and services, immigrants and migrants enacted social reform that significantly impacted the medical landscape, promoting health equity, regardless of nationality, citizenship, or immigration status. The exhibition not only explores the history of immigrant healthcare in the United States but examines the specific healthcare challenges faced by immigrant communities today from the undocumented to the “immigrant paradox”. 

The NLM Traveling Exhibition includes a companion website with the following resources and supplemental materials:

• Digital Gallery 
• Exhibition Collection 
• University Education Resources & Modules: 

The NLM exhibition, located on the first floor near the main library staircase, is accompanied by four displays curated by Galter staff in our Eckenhoff Reading Room. These displays highlight the history and development of public health instruction and curriculum beginning in the 1880s and influenced by the growth of immigrant populations. The Galter companion exhibit focuses on the medical initiatives of faculty and students that impacted immigrant health at Feinberg School of Medicine and its predecessor, Chicago Medical College.

For additional resources visit our newly published Immigrant Health GalterGuide curated by Ramune Kubilius, Collection Development and Special Projects Librarian.