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.
Right now, I am reading The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. One quote that struck me the most is, “Libraries are lungs. Books the fresh air breathed in to keep the heart beating, to keep the brain imagining, to keep hope alive.”
Guest post by Kathryn Funk, program manager for NLM’s PubMed Central. In 2020, I shared information about NLM’s launch of the NIH Preprint Pilot: A New Experiment for a New Era to explore how inclusion of preprints in our literature resources, PubMed Central (PMC) and PubMed, could accelerate the discoverability and maximize the impact of … Continue reading NIH Preprint Pilot Expands to Include Preprints Across NIH-Funded Research
Let’s meet Zhiyong Lu, PhD, a Senior Investigator for our National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Computational Biology Branch and member of the NLM Intramural Research Program. He is leading a team of research scientists to harness the power of machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML/AI) to advance the ways our products and services work—advancements … Continue reading Meet the NLM Investigators: Dr. Zhiyong Lu is Teaching Computers to Think Like Scientists
Guest post by Dianne Babski, Associate Director for Library Operations, and Patrick Casey, NLM Building Engineer. This serves as a follow up to a previous blog post, (Re)Engineering the National Library of Medicine Building, from July 2021. In fall 2017, NLM engaged with NIH facilities management, architects, and historic preservation specialists to explore ways to … Continue reading Renovating and Rebuilding to Advance Our Future
When we launched this blog over six years ago, we selected the title NLM Musings from the Mezzanine to reflect that the thoughts and ideas originated in this beautiful place, situated on the upper story of the National Library of Medicine building on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. I reflected on this inspirational place … Continue reading The NLM Mezzanine . . . A Space and a Place
I LOVE this time of year…. I love the cold weather (I am a snow baby at heart!); I love the holiday season and the connections with my past and present; I love the sense that as one year ends, a new one comes along—and we don’t have to do anything to make this happen! … Continue reading Endings and Beginnings
Guest post by Yanli Wang, PhD, Program Officer, Division of Extramural Programs, National Library of Medicine. Solving complex biomedical or public health problems demands interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers who are ready to address important biomedical issues. To meet this demand, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) joined in 2013 … Continue reading How an Interagency Smart and Connected Health Program Uses Big Data to Support Personal Health
When NLM wrapped up 2021 last December, we took a moment and considered what our future might bring. What would a hybrid work environment look like? How would we UNITE to show our commitment to health equity? Where are we in regard to our building renovations? And how would we continue to innovate NLM products … Continue reading How Looking Back Leads Us Forward: A Musings Year in Review
During the summer of 2017, my first summer as Director of the National Library of Medicine, Joyce Backus—our then-NLM Associate Director for Library Operations (ADLO)—approached me with a wild idea: “How about we engage an architectural firm to guide renovations of our library space?” Joyce was a forward-thinking ADLO and had already done much to … Continue reading Anticipating a Future We Never Anticipated