Contribute Your Ideas for NLM’s Future Directions

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is embarking on a new strategic planning initiative and invites input from its stakeholder community. As the world’s largest biomedical library and the producer of PubMed, Clinical Trials.gov, PubMed Central, GenBank, MedlinePlus, and hundreds of other databases and initiatives, NLM is an indispensable resource for researchers and clinicians at Pitt and throughout the world.

The planning process is organized around four main themes:

1. The role of NLM in advancing data science, open science, and biomedical informatics.
2. The role of NLM in advancing biomedical discovery and translational science.
3. The role of NLM in supporting the public’s health: clinical systems, public health systems and services, and personal health.
4. The role of NLM in building collections to support discovery and health in the 21st century.

Within these planning themes, you are invited to comment on the following areas:

1. Identify what you consider an audacious goal in your area of interest—a challenge that may be daunting but would represent a huge leap forward were it to be achieved.  Include input on the barriers to and benefits of achieving the goal.
2. The most important thing NLM does in this area, from your perspective.
3. Research areas that are most critical for NLM to conduct or support.
4. Healthcare systems and public health arenas in which NLM participation is most critical.
5. New data types or data collections anticipated over the next 10 years.
6. Other comments, suggestions, or considerations, keeping in mind that the aim is to build the NLM of the future.

This is an important opportunity to help shape the next future directions of NLM. For instructions on how to submit a response, go to the website. Responses are due by January 9, 2017.