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National Library of Medicine Data Distribution Program

National Library of Medicine Data Distribution Program. NLM Technical Bulletin. 1998 May–Jun;(302):e1.

May 1998 [posted]

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is announcing the release of its revised "License Agreement to Lease NLM Databases." This license, dated March 13, 1998, supersedes the previous license last revised April 1, 1994. Existing licensees will not be asked to sign the new license. However, please note that the terms of the new license are binding upon publication in the Web-based NLM Technical Bulletin, as per the 1994 license.

The following summarizes the changes in the revised license:

  1. Section C.5 accounts for the possibility that NLM may use a contractor for distribution of leased data in the future and that the data may be distributed electronically.
  2. Section D.1.c reflects the fact that a code is no longer required for licensees to access NLM's publicly available system for record verification. PubMed and Internet Grateful Med, our two free Web-based retrieval systems, do not require a code.
  3. References to TOXLIT and CHEMLINE have been deleted from Sections E and G. NLM no longer provides access to these files on our retrieval systems nor do we lease them.
  4. ChemID is referenced in Section E as a database for which downloading is not permissible without approval from two of the suppliers.
  5. The wording of the notice in Section E.4 which licensees are required to issue regarding downloading and subsequent re-use of NLM-supplied data has been revised. Sections E and F now refer to the NLM statement on Copyright of Abstracts and Downloading Small Amounts of MEDLARS Data for Redistribution for additional information regarding these topics.
  6. Section G.2 has been deleted. This section addressed the foreign surcharge in effect prior to October 1, 1997. Because NLM no longer requires licensees to pay a surcharge for usage of licensees' products and services outside the U.S., this section (and all references to it) has been removed from the license. Section G has been renumbered.
  7. Sections H and K acknowledge the fact that NLM may offer a media other than tape to distribute the leased data.
  8. Section M now states that the NLM Technical Bulletin (in which amendments to the License are announced) is a Web-based publication available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/tb.html.

Currently, there are 58 NLM licensees, 43 of whom lease MEDLINE. Formally recognized International MEDLARS Centers, commercial enterprises, and academic institutions are among our licensees. The licensees make NLM data available within their own organizations and also to the public via online and Web-based systems, and CD-ROM products. Under certain circumstances it is permissible to download NLM data for redistribution outside of the formal licensing program. This situation is covered in our statement on Copyright of Abstracts and Downloading Small Amounts of MEDLARS Data for Redistribution. Information about leasing databases and downloading for redistribution beyond personal use is available from the NLM Web site at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/leased.html. Please note that in this context downloading for redistribution pertains to licensees, not to the work a librarian or information professional does for a client's personal use.