Fact Sheet
National Network of Libraries of Medicine® Membership Program
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM®), formerly the Regional Medical Library Network and the first comprehensive national library network, began in 1967. Under the leadership of the National Library of Medicine and through the participation of medical libraries and other information resource providers throughout the nation, it has developed into a well-organized and effective network for meeting the information needs of the nation's health professionals and of the general public.
The NN/LM established a mechanism to formally recognize participating institutions in 1988. Although formal recognition is now being given to these participants, it is acknowledged that many other organizations and institutions are part of and contribute to the success of the network.
In appreciation of this support the National Library of Medicine instituted a program to recognize the important role of these libraries by enrolling them formally as network members. The Regional Medical Libraries have been registering Network members since April 1988. Current membership as of April 2012 is:
| Region | Count |
|---|---|
| Middle Atlantic Region | 799 |
| Southeastern Atlantic | 1,249 |
| Greater Midwest | 1,094 |
| MidContinental | 341 |
| South Central | 1,026 |
| Pacific Northwest | 362 |
| Pacific Southwest | 570 |
| New England | 538 |
| Total Network Members | 5,979 |
The goals of the NN/LM are:
- To develop collaborations with NN/LM libraries to improve access to and sharing of biomedical information resources throughout the nation;
- To promote awareness of, access to, and use of biomedical information resources for health professionals and the public, with a particular emphasis on contributing to the Health People 2020 goal of eliminating health disparities; and
- To develop, promote, and improve electronic access to health information by network member, health professionals, and organizations providing health information to the public.
Who is eligible for membership?
There are two categories of membership within the NN/LM: Full Member and Affiliate Member. A Full Member can be any health sciences library or health-related information center, institution, or organization that: (1) is regularly staffed; (2) has an Internet connection; (3) has its own collection of health sciences materials (books, journals, audiovisuals, electronic databases); (4) provides information services to health professionals and/or the general public; (5) participate in borrowing and lending in DOCLINE.
"Information services" should include the following:
- Answering or referring reference questions
- Performing information searches.
Members are encouraged to provide document delivery service to their own users and/or to unaffiliated users.
An Affiliate Member is a library, information/resource center or organization that promotes health information, education, and/or access, but does not meet all of the criteria for Full Member participation.
Conditions of Network Membership Participation
Each Full Member and Affiliate Member institution must agree to make the following contributions:
- Designate an individual as the local contact person for network information/communications.
- Be listed in the national directory of network members. National directory information is available online through the membership file NN/LM Members Directory.
- Provide up-to-date information about services and/or collections (where applicable) to NLM and to their Regional Medical Library (RML).
Benefits of Membership
Each Full Member and Affiliate Member will receive the following benefits:
- A certificate recognizing NN/LM membership
- Access to a variety of training opportunities
- The opportunity to network with other NN/LM members
- Access to the latest health related news and information
- Access to the interlibrary loan systems used by health sciences librarians and NLM
- Posters, brochures, bookmarks, and other promotional materials
- Eligibility for funding for health information access and other projects
- The opportunity to provide input on regional NN/LM programs and services
Additional Information
Additional information about the National Network of Libraries of Medicine can be obtained at http://nnlm.gov/, by contacting your Regional Medical Library (1-800-338-7657), and as noted below:
1. Middle Atlantic Region
University of Pittsburgh
Health Sciences Library System
200 Scaife Hall
3550 Terrace Street
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15261
Phone: (412) 648-9750
Fax: (412) 648-8819
Email: nnlmmar@pitt.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/mar/
States Served: DE, NJ, NY, PA
2. Southeastern/Atlantic Region
University of Maryland, Baltimore
Health Sciences and Human Services Library
601 West Lombard Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21201-1583
Phone: (410) 706-2855
Fax: (410) 706-0099
Email: HSHSL-NLMsea@hshsl.umaryland.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/sea/
States Served: AL, FL, GA, MD, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands
3. Greater Midwest Region
University of Illinois at Chicago
Library of the Health Sciences (M/C 763)
1750 W. Polk Street
Chicago, Illinois 60612-4330
Phone: (312) 996-2464
Fax: (312) 996-2226
Email: gmr4u@uic.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/gmr/
States Served: IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, ND, OH, SD, WI
4. MidContinental Region
University of Utah
Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library
Regional Medical Library
10 North 1900 East
Salt Lake City, Utah 84112-5890
Phone: (801) 581-8771
Fax: (801) 581-3632
Email: rml4@rml4.utah.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/mcr/
States Served: CO, KS, MO, NE, UT, WY
5. South Central Region
Houston Academy of Medicine-
Texas Medical Center Library
1133 John Freeman Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77030-2809
Phone: (713) 799-7880
Fax: (713) 790-7030
Email: nnlm-scr@exch.library.tmc.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/scr/
States Served: AR, LA, NM, OK, TX
6. Pacific Northwest Region
Health Sciences Libraries and Information Center
NN/LM Pacific Northwest Region
University of Washington
Box 357155
1949 NE Pacific Avenue, Room T244
Seattle, WA 98195-7155
Phone: (206) 543-8262
Fax: (206) 543-2469
Email: nnlm@u.washington.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/pnr/
States Served: AK, ID, MT, OR, WA
7. Pacific Southwest Region
University of California, Los Angeles
Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library
12-077 Center for the Health Sciences
Box 951798
Los Angeles, California 90095-1798
Phone: (310) 825-1200
Fax: (310) 825-5389
Email: psr-nnlm@library.ucla.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/psr/
States Served: AZ, CA, HI, NV, and U.S. Territories in the Pacific Basin
8. New England Region
University of Massachusetts Medical School
The Lamar Soutter Library
55 Lake Avenue, North
Worcester, MA 01655
Phone: (508) 856-2399
Fax: (508) 856-5039
Email: nnlm-ner@umassmed.edu
URL: http://nnlm.gov/ner
States Served: CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT
Overseas Military Medical Personnel
Armed Forces Medical Library
5109 Leesburg Pike, Room 670
Falls Church, VA 22041-3258
URL: http://www.tricare.osd.mil/afml/
Telephone: 703-681-8028
Fax: 703-681-8034
E-mail: afml@tma.osd.mil
NN/LM National Centers
National Library of Medicine Training Center (NTC)
The NTC supports a variety of training opportunities for NN/LM members and for health professionals. It also manages a searchable database with links to web-based health education training materials.
Outreach Evaluation Resource Center (OERC)
The OERC provides assistance in developing well-planned evaluation to help target and measure outreach success.
Web Services Technology Operations Center (Web-STOC)
Web-STOC provides systems functions including database management, system policy-development and technical consulting related to the NN/LM Web services.
Toll-free phone number for all Regional Medical Libraries: 1-800-338-7657
A complete list of NLM Fact Sheets is available at:
(alphabetical list) http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsheets.html
(subject list): http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/factsubj.html
Or write to:
FACT SHEETS
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, Maryland 20894
Phone: (301) 496-6308
Fax: (301) 496-4450
email: publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov
For information on NLM services contact:
National Library of Medicine
Customer Service
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
Telephone: 1-888-FINDNLM (1-888-346-3656) or
(301)594-5983
e-mail: custserv@nlm.nih.gov
