National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis S. Collins approved a federal report that lays out the long-term scientific vision for the NIH's National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world's largest biomedical library. This vision, presented at the 110th meeting of the Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD), calls for NIH to position the NLM as a unifying force in biomedicine that promotes and accelerates knowledge generation, dissemination and understanding in the United States and internationally.
The report also cites the need to make NLM the epicenter for biomedical data science, not just at NIH, but across the biomedical research enterprise. In addition, the report recommends dramatically expanding NLM's activities to include research conducted beyond NIH's walls to funded institutions, enabling it to have a greater and wider impact on data science than ever before. NIH plans to work with Congress to implement the necessary infrastructure changes to move this vision forward.
To capitalise on the emerging opportunities in data science, Dr. Collins tasked a working group of his ACD to lay out a strategic vision for the NLM to maintain its global leadership in biomedical and health information. Comprising experts in the fields of biomedical research, bioinformatics, library sciences, publishing, and patient care, the working group assessed the current mission, organisation and programmatic priorities of the NLM. The group presented its recommendations for a strategic vision to the ACD, and it was subsequently unanimously endorsed. In summary, the ACD envisioned NLM to be a modernised conceptualisation of a library and formulated a series of recommendations to guide its future.
Dr. Collins accepted the ACD recommendations in full, but acknowledged that NIH will need to consider the requirements and infrastructure implications for centering NIH's biomedical data science activities within the NLM. In addition, NIH has launched a nationwide search for the director of the NLM to replace Dr. Donald Lindberg, who served as the NLM director for more than 30 years and retired in March 2015.
The ACD advises the NIH Director on policy matters important to the NIH mission of conducting and supporting biomedical and behavioural research, research training, and translating research results for the public.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH.
