[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 59 (Wednesday, May 4, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2692-S2693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SENATE RESOLUTION 163--COMMEMORATING THE 175TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 
               UNITED STATES NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

  Mr. HARKIN submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions:

                              S. Res. 163

       Whereas since 1836, the National Library of Medicine has 
     played a crucial role in information innovation, 
     revolutionizing the way scientific and medical information is 
     organized, stored, accessed, and disseminated;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine houses the largest 
     and most distinguished collection of health science and 
     medical research literature in the world and serves as a 
     vital resource to researchers, health professionals, and 
     health care consumers;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine produces and 
     provides free public access to comprehensive online databases 
     of biological, genomic, and clinical research data that are a 
     lynchpin to cutting edge biomedical research and are searched 
     more than 2,000,000,000 times each year;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine plays a central 
     role in developing health data standards to enable efficient 
     use and exchange of health information in electronic health 
     records;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine has conducted and 
     supported training programs for ground-breaking informatics 
     research and development for more than 40 years;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine is a leading 
     source of toxicology, environmental health, and disaster 
     preparedness and response information, including innovative 
     use of information technology and mobile devices for first 
     responders;
       Whereas the National Library of Medicine has developed a 
     wide range of consumer health information resources, which 
     have improved the health of citizens of the United States and 
     persons around the globe; and
       Whereas the long and distinguished history of the National 
     Library of Medicine is worthy of special commemoration by the 
     people of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) commemorates the 175th anniversary of the United States 
     National Library of Medicine;
       (2) salutes the National Library of Medicine for a long and 
     distinguished record of service to citizens of the United 
     States and people around the globe, and for the many 
     contributions of the National Library of Medicine in the area 
     of information innovation; and
       (3) calls upon the people of the United States to observe 
     the 175th anniversary of the United States National Library 
     of Medicine with appropriate recognition and activities.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, as a member of the Senate who has been 
very interested in and involved with the areas of biomedical research, 
health care and the improvement of the public health, I want to draw 
the attention of the Congress and the Nation to the 175th anniversary 
of the National Library of Medicine, NLM, located at the National 
Institutes of Health, NIH.
  NLM has changed the way scientific and medical information is 
organized, stored, accessed and disseminated. Throughout its 
distinguished history, the Library's hallmark has been information 
innovation, leading to exciting scientific discoveries that ultimately 
improve the public health.
  From its modest beginnings as the Library of the U.S. Army Surgeon 
General in 1836, the National Library of Medicine has grown to become 
the world's largest medical library and the producer of electronic 
information resources used by millions of people around the globe every 
day.
  The NLM has been fortunate to be led by Donald A.B. Lindberg, M.D. 
since 1984. Under Dr. Lindberg's leadership, the Library has 
dramatically advanced toward its goal of providing access to biomedical 
information--anytime, anywhere--for scientists, health professionals, 
and the public. During Dr. Lindberg's tenure, NLM has embraced the 
Internet as the primary mode of delivering its services and expanded 
its portfolio to include genetic sequence data, high-resolution 
anatomical images, clinical trials information, and a wide array of 
high-quality information for consumers. One wonders what astonishing 
developments the next 175 years might bring.
  Throughout its 175 years, NLM's work has been vital to facilitating 
and improving the effectiveness of biomedical research, getting 
important health information out to health professionals and consumers 
and conducting groundbreaking informatics research.
  Index Medicus, a groundbreaking index of medical journal articles 
first published in 1879, evolved into MEDLINE, the first marriage of 
online search technology and nationwide telecommunications, in 1971. 
Available free of charge since 1997 via the Internet, PubMed/MEDLINE is 
today the most frequently consulted medical database in the world.
  NLM began providing toxicology and environmental health data for use 
in emergency response and disaster management in the mid-1960s. Today, 
it produces information services to help health professionals, disaster 
information specialists, and the general public cope with emergencies 
and disasters ranging from children swallowing household cleaners to 
overturned trucks carrying hazardous materials to the widespread 
effects of hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, and oil spills.
  NLM established librarian training programs and the National Network 
of Libraries of Medicine in the late 1960s, to provide equal access to 
the biomedical literature to persons across the country. Now with 
nearly 6,000 members, NLM and this network of academic, hospital, and 
public libraries partner with community-based organizations to bring 
high-quality information services to health professionals and the 
public--regardless of geographic location, socioeconomic status or 
level of access to computers and telecommunications.
  NLM has conducted and supported training programs and groundbreaking 
informatics research and development for more than 40 years. The 
Library, its grantees, and its former trainees continue to play 
essential roles in the development of electronic health records, health 
data standards, and the exchange of health information.
  NLM is home to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, 
NCBI,

[[Page S2693]]

established in 1988 as a national resource for molecular biology 
information. Its work was essential to the mapping of the human genome. 
Today, NCBI is an indispensable international repository and software 
tool developer for genetic sequences and other scientific data, and a 
pioneer and leader in linking data and published research results to 
promote new scientific discoveries.
  NLM began intensive development of Web health information services 
for the general public in 1998 with the release of MedlinePlus.gov. Now 
available in English and Spanish, MedlinePlus is just one of many NLM 
consumer health information products also available on mobile devices. 
An award-winning free magazine, NIH MedlinePlus, is edited by NLM staff 
and is an important vehicle for sharing information from all of the NIH 
Institutes and Centers, in language that consumers can easily 
understand. Copies of the magazine, both an English and Spanish-
language version, are distributed to doctors' offices, clinics, 
community health centers and other sites around the Nation.
  NLM released ClinicalTrials.gov in 2000. It is now the world's 
largest source of information about clinical trials recruiting for 
patients and healthy volunteers, and also provides summary results of 
some trials long before they appear in the published literature.
  In 2003, the Library teamed with the National Institute on Aging to 
launch NIHSeniorHealth. The site features authoritative, up-to-date 
information from the NIH Institutes and Centers, in a format that 
addresses the cognitive changes that come with older adulthood and 
allows easy use.
  Also in 2003, NLM began a program called the Information Rx. 
Partnering with a variety of respected national physician groups and 
other organizations, NLM has supplied prescription pads to health 
providers, so that they can point their patients to the first-rate 
health information on the MedlinePlus site.
  In recognition of its many achievements, today I am introducing the 
following Senate Resolution to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the 
founding of the National Library of Medicine. I offer my 
congratulations to NLM and to its current and past leadership and staff 
and thank them for their important public service.

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