Help with a camera

Yesterday, while going through some old stuff I had, I found my mother's old camera, a Sony Cyber-shot. Since it's old and the batteries were never changed, it now has green and blue crystals or dust on it. I examined it and, from what I can see, it's because of the batteries, which are also old. I bought new batteries, but it still doesn't work. Does anyone know how to clean that dust? Or should I take it to be repaired?

I plan to check the camera to see my mother's photos when she was young, so I can transfer them to my computer, since we also found her USB cable.

(update)

I was able to fix the camera. It turns on and everything, although sometimes it doesn't, but I just have to clean it a little.

Now I'm getting a memory error. When I turn on the camera, it says “memory stick error” along with “c:13:01.” I did some research on the internet and found out that it's a common error with memory cards. I tried removing and inserting the card several times, cleaning it, locking and unlocking it, but it's still the same. At the same time, it won't let me transfer the photos to my computer, nor will it let me view them directly from the camera, nor will it let me take photos. I'm seeing if I can go somewhere today to have it checked out and find out what can be done, although honestly, I don't have any money right now.