"ClinicalTrials.gov" Launched

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New Policy on Clinical Alerts

NLM Long Range Plan in Place

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NLM In Print

NLM recently completed a new Long Range Plan for 2000-2005. This is the latest chapter in the Library's very successful long range planning under Dr. Donald A.B. Lindberg, who became NLM Director in 1984.

In 1985, the NLM Board of Regents sought to develop a 20-year Long Range Plan to guide the Library in using its human, physical and financial resources to fulfill its mission. Supplemental reports in the years following addressed specific topics, such as outreach to underserved health professionals and electronic imaging, that required a fresh look due to dramatic changes in the social and technological landscape in which the NLM operates. The Library's planning efforts have guided it in resource allocation and program direction, and have led to major new programs, such as outreach, the Visible Humans and the National Center for Biotechnology Information.

In 1999, the Board of Regents asked the Director to prepare a new Long Range Plan for the Library, for the next five years. The Track Record, prepared as a first step in this process, summarized these past planning efforts, and noted specifically those recommendations that have been substantially accomplished, and those that require additional attention and/or a redirection of program efforts.

The Track Record was shared with approximately 250 individuals, many of whom had participated in previous NLM planning panels. Comments were received from roughly a hundred respondents. These comments were reviewed carefully, summarized, and discussed with the Board of Regents at its September meeting, and again at a highly successful December 1, 1999, meeting at NLM. The purpose of the December meeting was to bring together a group of interested individuals representing important constituent groups, to discuss the overall NLM plan, and to comment on high priority areas previously identified by the Board of Regents.

The Plan identifies four overall goals for NLM:

• Organize Health-Related Information and Provide Access to It
• Encourage Use of High Quality Information by Health Professionals and the Public
• Strengthen the Informatics Infrastructure of Biomedicine and Health
• Conduct and Support Informatics Research

Within the structure of these four goals, the Plan identifies seven priorities, in addition to support of basic library services:

1. Health information for the public
   NLM has historically focused its services and products on an audience of health professionals and biomedical scientists. With widespread deployment of computers and telecommunications, the time is now right for NLM to provide access to health information that is useful both to the general public and to practitioners who need information outside their particular field of expertise. The Plan also recommends that NLM promote research on ways that information services can improve personal health care decisions and outcomes.
2. Molecular biology information systems
   The Plan recommends that NLM continue its commitment to organize genomic data to meet the rapidly evolving genome research agenda. The explosive growth in the fields of genetics and molecular biology, spurred largely by the worldwide success of the Human Genome Project, has resulted in staggering amounts of data that have increased by many orders of magnitude over the past decade. The challenge for the next decade will be to keep pace with the flood of genome data, while also designing the tools and databases for the gene discoveries of the 21st century -- discoveries that will advance understanding of molecular processes affecting human health and disease.
3. Training for computational biology
   The nation's biomedical research enterprise needs more trained professionals in computational biology, including mathematical modeling in the life sciences, imaging and molecular biology. NLM should contribute to NIH efforts to increase the number of people who are trained in computational biology, by building on its unique informatics training program that bridges the gap between basic and clinical research.
4. Definition of the research publication of the future
   NLM should play an active role in defining the research publication of the future. Electronic methods for disseminating biomedical research results (such as PubMed Central; see related article in NLM NEWSLINE) are being developed, keeping pace with the rapid improvements to electronic computing and communications technologies. As a major player in the management of scientific information, NLM should contribute to the development of new forms of publishing which can provide more rapid exchange of information, increased multimedia capabilities, the opportunity for lower dissemination costs, and wider global accessibility.
5. Permanent access to electronic information
   The rapid increases in electronic publishing and technological change make the problem of ensuring long-term access to electronic information difficult. The Plan recommends that NLM be a leader in responding to the problem of impermanence of electronic information. As a creator, organizer and disseminator of information in electronic form, NLM has a responsibility to contribute to the development of technical methods and affordable collaborative strategies. Success will require collaboration with other libraries and a range of stakeholders to develop the necessary technical standards, and scalable national and international approaches required to ensure permanent access.
6. Fundamental informatics research
   The Plan notes that advances in computing, storage, and communications provide new opportunities for productive basic research in medical informatics and digital libraries. NLM should increase resources for extramural and intramural research in these areas. A major problem for research is how to build robust systems that can produce "just in time" answers to specific questions that occur to busy clinicians in the context of direct patient care. The Plan suggests that NLM should explore the potential of research and development in information systems that move beyond information retrieval to provide specific knowledge needed for clinical decision-making. A related research issue is how to help patients and families find information specific to their immediate health concerns.
7. Global health partnerships
   The increasing globalization of knowledge has made it clear that domestic and international functions of the NLM are not separable. The Plan reaffirms the international mission of NLM. In particular, the Library should focus on establishing new partnerships to leverage its resources. It should also seek to improve the effectiveness of the international initiatives of others (e.g., health science centers and libraries, research funders, donor organizations, non-governmental organizations, etc.) through improved access to and use of new computer and information technology and knowledge management tools. It is important that NLM carefully select targets of opportunity for involvement in areas of the world where NLM can make a difference.

Overall responsibility for the development of the Long Range Plan rested with Susan Buyer, Chief, Office of Planning and Analysis, and Elliot Siegel, PhD, Associate Director for Health Information Programs Development.

The NLM Long Range Plan 2000-2005 will be available shortly on the NLM web site and will also be printed as a report. To receive a printed copy of the plan when it is published, please send your name and mailing address to publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov, or call the NLM Office of Communications, 301-496-6308.

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