NLM Musings from the Mezzanine
Innovations in Health Information from the Director of the National Library of Medicine
Concerns and innovative practices that are relevant to a wide-range of libraries.
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
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
Patient privacy — you might be scratching your head right now. NLM is a research enterprise and a LIBRARY for heaven’s sake! What does a library have to do with patient privacy? NLM protects the privacy of all people who use our resources, which are free and accessible 24/7. NLM complies with requirements for privacy … Continue reading Your Privacy is an NLM Priority
A guest post by Amanda J. Wilson, Chief, Office of Engagement and Training; Leigh Samsel, NLM Planning and Evaluation Officer, Office of Strategic Initiatives; and Elizabeth A. Mullen, Manager of Web Development and Social Media, History of Medicine Division, National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. This year’s theme for World AIDS … Continue reading Ending the HIV Epidemic: Equitable Access, Everyone’s Voice
Guest post by Patricia Flatley Brennan, Director, NLM; Dianne Babski, Associate Director for Library Operations, NLM; and Amanda J. Wilson, Chief of the Office of Engagement and Training, NLM. Welcome to NLM @ MLA ’21 vConference! This year, for the Medical Library Association (MLA) virtual meeting, we organized NLM’s activities around three themes: Reflect on … Continue reading Reflect, Reimagine, Reenergize TOGETHER
Guest post by M. Nichelle Midón, Project Scientist, Office of Engagement and Training, National Library of Medicine. Earlier this year, NLM Director Dr. Patricia Flatley Brennan shared insights about how we, at NLM, support individual and organizational health literacy. As the world’s largest biomedical library, NLM provides physical and digital access to trusted, quality health … Continue reading What Health Literacy Outreach Looks Like at NLM
As I write this, the National Institutes of Health campus is blanketed with a light dusting of snow. The roads and paths are clear, but the grass is covered everywhere. As I walked past the day care building, I spied a dad watching his toddler girl crunch through the snow-covered grass. She slid one way … Continue reading The Wonder of Everyday Things
Envisioning a sustainable data trust