NLM Musings from the Mezzanine
Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the National Library of Medicine
One thing I’ve learned as a federal employee is that nothing at work ever happens all alone. As I look to retirement from NIH and federal service at the end of this month, I invite you to look backward at what we have accomplished together and look forward to the next journey for NLM!
Right at this very moment, the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) 2022 Annual Symposium is underway in Washington, D.C., and we encourage you to visit NLM @ AMIA 2022 for updates on NLM's products and programs. Now this may sound quite familiar to those of you who have attended AMIA annual symposiums in Washington, D.C., … Continue reading The More AMIA Changes, the More It Stays the Same . . .
Last week I turned 69! Can you believe that??? This is so amazing to me—how could I be THAT OLD?? Two years ago (when I was just 67!), I shared that… In midlife, I think I’m where I’m supposed to be, because I feel like I’m 39, think I look like I’m 49, believe I … Continue reading Is Age Really Just a Number?
In mid-May, at their 2022 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in Houston, Texas, I received a great honor from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN): the AACN Pioneering Spirit Award. I was delighted to receive this prestigious award, which recognizes significant contributions that influence progressive and critical care nursing worldwide and … Continue reading How Being an ICU Nurse Prepared Me to be NLM Director
As we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, I cannot help but be acutely aware of the challenges faced by our frontline workers, from nurses and physicians to grocery store workers and public safety personnel, to teachers, bus drivers, and childcare workers, not to mention the parents of school aged and small children. … Continue reading Pandemic Decision Fatigue: How Can We Help?
It’s the holiday season and a time for celebration, reflection, and catching up with family and friends. This year, I am struck by two themes: the celebration of light and darkness, and the time-honored traditions found in special foods and decorations. For me, a winter aficionado with strong Irish roots, my holidays began with Samhain … Continue reading Happy Holiday Season!
Of all the wonderful signs and sounds heralding a change in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, none is more welcome than the news that public libraries are reopening. If you, like me, remember spending hot summer afternoons in the cool, air-conditioned library, this mid-summer news may bring a smile to your face. For me, … Continue reading The Public Libraries are Opening! The Public Libraries are Opening!
Last year we published a blog on my birthday . . . I love my birthday! As I wrote last year . . . When you grow up in a family of 10 kids, like I did, your birthday is a very special day. I celebrated my birthday last week and spent time with my … Continue reading Preparing for the Best Future We Can Imagine
About 15 to 20 years ago, in the early days of browsers and websites, colleagues from the University of Washington, led by William Jones, launched a research project called “Keeping Found Things Found.” They interviewed many people to explore what we now call personal information management. You know what this is – it’s how you … Continue reading Keeping Found Things Found . . .
On August 13, 2016, I became the first woman, nurse, and industrial engineer to serve as director of the National Library of Medicine (NLM). From its beginning in 1836 as a small collection of books in the library of the U.S. Army Surgeon General’s office, NLM has become a global force in accelerating biomedical discovery … Continue reading Five Years and Counting!