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History of Medicine

Visit Us

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is open to the public.

Location
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
(301) 402-8878

  • New Security Measures

    Before visiting NLM, please review New Security Measures for Visitors to NLM and NIH.

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  • Directions and Maps

    Road Map of NLM location within the larger D.C. area
    NLM Reading Rooms and Services - Directions and Parking Information
    NIH Campus shows NLM (Building 38)

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  • Parking and Other Options

    All visitors must enter the NIH Gateway Center main visitor entrance at NIH Gateway Drive.

    Parking at NLM (Parking Map) is extremely limited and expensive. The parking charges for the Gateway Parking Garage are $2/hr. for the first three hours or $12.00 for the entire day. NIH Security requires inspection of all vehicles.

    • Park in Bethesda

      Public parking garages in Bethesda (Bethesda Parking Map) are reasonably priced. Lot 35 (click on Lot Number for parking rates) is a 15 minute walk from NLM. Walk north on Woodmont, cross Battery Lane and proceed ahead to Wisconsin Ave/Rockville Pike (Rte. 355). NLM is on the left, set on a small hill. Perimeter fence prohibits entry except at Center Drive.  See NIH Campus map.

    • Take Metro

      The Metro’s Medical Center stop (Red Line) is a few minutes’ walk from NLM. At the top of the Metro escalator, walk straight, past the bus stops, and enter the Visitor Center Gateway. At the Gateway, you will have to show ID and put your bags on a conveyor belt, for screening. You will then be issued an identification badge. After exiting the Gateway Center, turn left, walk down the ramp and turn left to walk up an asphalt path to a concrete sidewalk. Along the way, there are signs directing you to the National Library of Medicine (Bldg 38) or the Lister Hill Center (Bldg 38A).

      To enter the Library or Lister Hill Center, visitors must show the identification badge obtained from the Visitor's Center at NIH entrance. Those requiring ramped wheelchair access may also enter at the North Loading Dock. Everyone must let NLM guards inspect bags, briefcases, packages, and handbags at inspection points. Inspection points are at: the Main Entrance to the Library; the entrance to the Lister Hill Center; the North Loading Dock.

    • Park Off-Campus

      Another option, though more time-consuming, is off-campus parking at Mid-Pike Plaza. Shuttle buses run from Mid-Pike Plaza to the NIH campus and stop at NLM.

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  • Where is the History of Medicine Reading Room?

    At the NLM main entrance, pass through the Guard Station (picture ID required) and immediately turn right to the History of Medicine Reading Room (Map of Reading Rooms)

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  • What are the hours of the History of Medicine Reading Room?

    The History of Medicine Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (EST) Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays.  The last retrieval from the stacks is at 4:00 p.m.

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  • Things to do and see at the Library

    • Visit the current exhibition in the History of Medicine Reading Room. And There's the Humor of it: Shakespeare and the Four Humors in the History of Medicine Reading Room. William Shakespeare (1564–1616) created characters that are among the richest and most humanly recognizable in all of literature. Yet Shakespeare understood human personality in the terms available to his age—that of the now-discarded theory of the four bodily humors –blood, bile, melancholy, and phlegm. These four humors were thought to define peoples’ physical and mental health, and determined their personalities, as well.

      The language of the four humors pervades Shakespeare's plays, and their influence is felt above all in a belief that emotional states are physically determined. Carried by the bloodstream, the four humors bred the core passions of anger, grief, hope, and fear—the emotions conveyed so powerfully in Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies.

      “And there’s the humor of it” Shakespeare and the four humors explores these themes in a special display featuring rare books and incunables from the collection of the National Library of Medicine and the Folger Shakespeare Library. For a tour of the special display, please contact NLMExhibition@mail.nih.gov or call 301.594.1947.

    • Check out What’s Happening on the History of Medicine homepage.

    • Explore Objects of Art in the National Library of Medicine

    • Take some Tours

    • “Turn the pages” of Elizabeth Blackwell's A Curious Herbal, a beautifully illustrated 18th century book of medicinal plants, at the History of Medicine Reading Room’s Turning the Pages kiosk.

    • Visit NLM Visitors Center for HDTV presentation, interactive displays, and give-aways.

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  • Things to do and see at National Institutes of Health

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