[ Narrator ] : In 2011, the National Library of Medicine celebrates its 175th anniversary — from John Shaw Billings to Donald A.B. Lindberg.
[Lindberg:] I Donald Lindberg...
[Narrator:] It's August 1984 and Dr. Lindberg is sworn in
as director of the National Library of Medicine
inheriting the mantle of leadership
and commitment to excellence that is traced
to the iconic Dr. Billings.
From the end of the Civil War to 1873,
Lt. Col. John Shaw Billings increases the Library of the
Army Surgeon General from 600 volumes
to 50,000 volumes, and in 1879, he creates
the Index Medicus, a truly international, comprehensive index
of the medical literature of the day.
Through the years, NLM grows steadily in importance
and breadth of mission, always building upon its founding roots.
In 1965, Congress passes the Medical Library Assistance Act,
which launches the National Network
of Libraries of Medicine anchored by
eight regional medical libraries.
The regional medical libraries and national network
of libraries of medicine are vital to NLM's outreach efforts.
[Ruffin:] All of these are avenues in which NLM
is able to reach out to under-served and minority populations.
In 1968, it is again the US Congress where
a joint resolution establishes
the Lister Hill National Center for Biomedical Communications,
which is to be the research and development arm of the Library,
harnessing the fruits of the computer revolution.
[Humphreys:] And the notion that we should build
computer systems that could understand medical meaning
is an idea that Don Lindberg
came to the National Library of Medicine with in 1984.
In 1986, the NLM develops a visionary long-range plan
that endorses both the concept of the Library
taking an active role in biotechnology information
and the creation of a national center.
So, in 1988, a congressional mandate gives birth to NCBI,
the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
And, with the worldwide explosion of medical information
and the ever increasing appetite for more,
NCBI quickly becomes ground zero for such projects as
the Human Genome and PubMed Central.
[Lindberg:] NCBI has already had a profound effect
on how biomedical science
is conducted not just in the US, but around the world.
Another outgrowth of the long-range plan
is the development of two unprecedented, image-based
visible human data sets -- male and female.
As the public demands more and more health information,
NLM responds with an array of programs
including clinicaltrials.gov,
the Disaster Information Management Research Center,
health and safety information
in the Household Products data base,
MedlinePlus, and mobile MedlinePlus.
There is the MedlinePlus Twitter feed
and the MedlinePlus Magazine in print and on the internet.
Also, the Library is a major player
in the national quest for electronic patient records.
And NLM research and training grants support
rigorous scientific study nationwide
and internationally, in biomedical informatics and bioinformatics.
[Lindberg:] It does help a lot to set out in the morning
being proud of your institution
and I still can honestly say that every morning I do feel that way.
NLM continues to discover innovative ways to meet its mandate
to collect, organize and make available
biomedical information to scientists, educators, practitioners
and just plain everybody, for the benefit of the public's health.
[Lindberg:] It's a great place. Great people.
