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!
"You might be thinking that providing access to research products and processes sounds a lot like what NLM does," writes Dr. Lisa Federer in this week's blog, "and you’d be right!" Learn how NLM advances open science, a concept at the heart of what NLM has been doing since its founding nearly 200 years ago.
NLM has advanced biomedicine and public health by acquiring, organizing, preserving, and disseminating knowledge that is essential to research, medicine, and health. We must ensure information being shared and used for research is useful to those who use it, and the answer lies in interoperability.
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.”
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
One of the great joys of being the Director of the National Library of Medicine is the many opportunities for me to express gratitude. In the past, I have given thanks to NLM staff who are veterans (2021), for progress during my tenure (2020), and to our amazing NLM staff members (2019). This year, I … Continue reading Giving Thanks Where Thanks is Due