NLM Musings from the Mezzanine
Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the National Library of Medicine
More than 10,000 rare diseases affect up to 400 million people worldwide, and those with rare diseases struggle for about six years on average before they receive an accurate diagnosis. But data-driven innovations are unlocking answers about rare diseases—as well as more common diseases—faster than ever before.
NIH leadership recently gathered for its annual planning and evaluation retreat, and for the first time since late 2019, we all sat together in one large room. I cannot capture in words how inspiring and energizing it was to be together—but let me tell you, it really was! Through masks and with appropriate physical distancing, … Continue reading Working to Innovate the Future of Work
Guest post by Jeffrey S. Reznick, PhD, Chief of the History of Medicine Division (HMD) at the National Library of Medicine (NLM). I have always associated Halloween with community and health. My family and I appreciate the holiday for the way it brings together our neighborhood of individuals and families with diverse backgrounds, creativity, and … Continue reading From Our Community to Yours, Happy Healthful Halloween!
This blog was authored by staff who serve on the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Library Operations (LO) Strategies Working Group.NLM is nearing its 200th anniversary in 2036, and NLM’s Library Operations (LO) is reflecting on its continuing mandate to acquire, organize, preserve, and disseminate biomedical information. LO is one of NLM’s largest divisions and … Continue reading NLM’s Library Operations is Reimagining to Better Serve You
This blog contains my remarks from the 2022 Lindberg-King Lecture and Scientific Symposium: Science, Society, and the Legacy of Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D., which took place on September 1, 2022. Watch a recording of the event here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTDPTxjL6oc&t=10617s I had the great fortune of becoming the director of the National Library of Medicine immediately following … Continue reading When You Stand on the Shoulders of a Giant, What Do You See?
As we start year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time for NLM to take stock of the parts of our past that will support the next normal and what we might need to change as we continue to fulfill our mission to acquire, collect, preserve, and disseminate biomedical literature to the world. Today, I … Continue reading The Next Normal: Supporting Biomedical Discovery, Clinical Practice, and Self-Care
Guest blog by Ken Koyle, MA, Deputy Chief of the History of Medicine Division (HMD) at the NIH National Library of Medicine. This post celebrates the important work performed by our archival professionals and the archival collections held by the library, from which the source material was drawn, as NLM celebrates International Archives Week #IAW2022. … Continue reading A New Frontier: The Impact of a 1959 Board Meeting
Right now, I am reading The Midnight Library by Matt Haig. It’s a fanciful story of a woman in limbo between life and death who finds herself in a magical library, and each book represents one of the lives she could have lived had she made even one tiny different decision. She then finds herself … Continue reading Midnight in the Library
Guest post by Amanda J. Wilson, Chief of the NLM Office of Engagement and Training (OET), and Dianne Babski, Associate Director for Library Operations. NLM is excited to participate in the annual Medical Library Association (MLA) conference MLA '22: Reconnect, Renew, Reflect, held virtually from April 27 to May 2 and on-site in New Orleans … Continue reading MLA ’22: NLM as an Engine for Innovation and Discovery
NLM is home to a robust research enterprise. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, I introduced you to two researchers from our Intramural Research Program (IRP), Dr. Lauren Porter and Dr. Xiaofang Jiang. Now I would like you to meet another one of our researchers, L. Aravind Iyer, PhD. A member of the NLM IRP, Dr. Iyer is … Continue reading Meet the NLM Investigators: L. Aravind Iyer, PhD, Uncovers the Language of Our DNA