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NLM Long Range Planning Documents

In January 1985, NLM's Board of Regents undertook to develop a Long Range Plan to guide the Library in using its human, physical, and financial resources to fulfill its mission. A broadly based process, involving the participation of librarians, health professionals, biomedical scientists, medical informaticians, computer scientists; and others whose interests were intertwined with the Library's, culminated in the adoption of a report by the Board of Regents.

The original Long Range Plan contained 16 major goals, 51 recommendations, and resource requirements for FY 1988-1990, and was published in 1987.

Since 1987, additional planning reports were prepared as supplements to the original Plan (also based on the work of broadly based panels of outside experts. These reports contain recommendations on outreach to health professionals, electronic imaging, information services for toxicology and environmental health, the education and training of health science librarians, and a plan for NLM's international programs.

At its January 2000 meeting, the Board of Regents approved a new NLM Long Range Plan for 2000-2005. The new Plan grows out of the Library's very successful fifteen-year history of long range planning.

The Plan identifies four overall goals for NLM:

Current Planning Documents

National Library of Medicine Long Range Plan 2000-2005    PDF (18 MB) | HTML
NLM Health Disparities Plan 2004-2008

Earlier Planning Documents

1987 NLM Long Range Plan
A Global Vision for the National Library of Medicine (2036K PDF) -- 1998
Education and Training of Health Sciences Librarians-- 1995
Improving Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Services -- 1993
Electronic Imaging -- 1990
Improving Health Professionals' Access to Information ("the DeBakey Outreach Report")  -- 1989

A description of NLM accomplishments and current program plans relating to the Long Range Plan may be found in The NLM Track Record.

For print copies, please contact the NLM Office of Public Information, (301) 496-6308 or publicinfo@nlm.nih.gov.

For further information about NLM's Long Range Plan, please contact Ms. Susan Buyer, Chief, Office of Planning and Analysis (susanb@nlm.nih.gov).

Last updated: 03 September 2004
First published: 31 March 2002
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