Organizing Electronic Information to Serve the Needs of Health Practitioners and Customers

From its beginnings as the Library of the Army Surgeon General to today's Internet-driven information environment, the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) has served a variety of audiences. As NLM strives to provide the best possible service to health scientists and consumers, the form of that service has changed depending on resources available and the state of technology. Throughout its history, NLM has adopted innovative programs and technology at the earliest sensible moment that would serve its patron needs. Today, NLM is a leader in providing electronic biomedical information to health professionals, researchers, the public, and anyone else with access to the Internet. These services have evolved in response to available technology and the demands of the various audiences, from clinicians to consumers. To serve the needs of this variety of patrons, NLM connects health information resources in ways that enable each audience to find the information appropriate to its need. NLM continues to improve this organization as the demand and technology and resources allow.