The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) provides outreach for the National Library of Medicine (NLM). The National Library of Medicine, the world's largest biomedical library, is one of the many institutes which make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH) based in Bethesda, MD. 

The goal of the NNLM is to advance the progress of medicine and improve public health by providing U.S. health professionals with equal access to biomedical information and improving individuals' access to information to enable them to make informed decisions about their health.

Seven Health Sciences Libraries function as the Regional Medical Library (RML) for their respective region. The RMLs coordinate the operation of a Network of Libraries and other organizations to carry out regional and national programs. The RMLs ensure a continuity of quality service for core programs of the NNLM, and cooperatively design, implement and evaluate innovative approaches to serve the health information needs of health professionals and a diverse public. 

Additionally, there are four National Offices and three National Centers, which serve all members in all seven regions.

The National Offices include:

• NNLM Training Office (NTO)
• NNLM Public Health Coordination Office (NPHCO)
• Office of Engagement and Training (OET)
• NNLM Web Services Office (NWSO)

The National Centers include:

• NNLM Evaluation Center (NEC)
• NNLM National Center for Data Services (NCDS)
• All of Us Program Center (NAPC)

The overall program is coordinated by the NLM’s Office of Engagement and Training (OET). Further the National Network Steering Committee (NNSC), composed of OET and representatives from each RML, the NNLM National Offices, and NLM staff implements common operational and evaluation processes for the RMLs and NNLM National Office programs they coordinate.

The University of Washington Health Sciences Library serves as the Regional Medical Library (RML) for Region 5, which provides programs, services, and dedicated support for NNLM Members in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States.

Keep in touch!

Email:

Contact Region 5 staff via email nnlm@uw.edu

Call:

Call us at 206-543-8262

If we are unable to answer your call, please leave a detailed message and we be in touch.

Website

• On the NNLM website you can find health information resources, register for classes, and more
• Visit the Region 5 webpage for content specific to Region 5

Region 5 News and Announcements

You are automatically subscribed to receive Region 5 news and announcements if you are in the NNLM Region 5 geographic region with a NNLM user account. You may unsubscribe at any time. If you are outside Region 5 and/or do not have an NNLM user account, you may subscribe to receive news and announcements at the NNLM Region 5 Fans webpage. 

Subscribing also includes receiving the NNLM Region 5 Weekly Digest with the latest news, training, and funding opportunities.

Social Media

• Region 5 blog 
• Region 5 Facebook
• Region 5 Instagram 
• Region 5 LinkedIn 

A collaboration of members, the Network is comprised of academic health sciences libraries, hospital, pharmaceutical and other special biomedical libraries, public libraries, information centers and community-based organization.  Benefits of Network membership include a certificate of recognition, training opportunities, eligibility for project funding, tools to support your organization's document delivery services, emergency preparedness planning and response, and partnerships with other NNLM members. The outreach efforts of the NNLM assure that researchers, health professionals, the public health workforce and the public are aware of and have access to quality health information available from NLM and the NNLM.

If your organization is interested in becoming a member of the NNLM, you can sign up here. It's free! 

NNLM offers funding for projects that improve access to health information, increase engagement with research and data, expand professional knowledge, and support outreach that promotes awareness and use of NLM resources in local communities.

Funding for Region 5 is announced on both the Region 5 blog and the Region 5 Weekly Digest email newsletter. Sign up for the Weekly Digest to receive these announcements. 

Timing for funding can be quick so consider planning ahead. 

Have an idea but unsure of applying? Send us an email or call us at 206-543-8262.  We're happy to help!

NNLM offers a variety of online, on-demand and in-person training opportunities to support professional development and continuing education for librarians, educators, and health professionals. View and register for upcoming training opportunities, view recordings of  past webinars, search the class catalog, and create an individual account to keep track of your training. All training is free. Visit the NNLM Training webpage

If your organization is seeking an in-service or training opportunity regarding health literacy, consumer health, NLM resources such as PubMed, data management, or other health information related topic, please contact Carolyn Martin 

The Medical Library Association provides specializations in Consumer Health Information, Data Services, and Systematic Review Services. Many of NNLM classes provide eligible CE towards these specializations. 

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) provides a number of resources to researchers, healthcare professionals, librarians, and the general public, at no cost. Here is just a few of the popular resources.

PubMed is a free resource supporting the search and retrieval of biomedical and life sciences literature with the aim of improving health–both globally and personally. The PubMed database contains more than 32 million citations and abstracts of biomedical literature. It does not include full text journal articles; however, links to the full text are often present when available from other sources, such as the publisher's website or PubMed Central (PMC).

PubMed Central is a free full-text archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine. Though the articles are free to access, copyright restrictions may still apply (see the PMC Copyright Notice).

MedlinePlus is a consumer-oriented health information resource. It contains carefully selected links to online resources with authoritative health information on a broad range of health topics. In addition, drug, supplement and herbal information, genetics, medical tests, as well as interactive tutorials and games can aid the general public to become better informed health consumers.

ClinicalTrials.gov is a web-based resource that provides patients, their family members, health care professionals, researchers, and the public with easy access to information on publicly and privately supported clinical studies on a wide range of diseases and conditions. ClinicalTrials.gov contains information about medical studies in human volunteers. ClinicalTrials.gov does not contain information about all the clinical studies conducted in the United States because not all studies are required by law to be registered.

Bookshelf is an online searchable collection of free online books, documents, and other scholarly literature in life science and healthcare.

History of Medicine Collections and Exhibits collects, preserves, makes available, and interprets for diverse audiences one of the world’s richest collections of historical material related to health and disease. Spanning ten centuries, encompassing a variety of digital and physical formats, and originating from nearly every part of the globe. The award-winning Exhibition Program, which develops onsite special displays, graphic traveling banner shows that tour the world, and online K–12 and higher education resources which together advance public awareness about medicine, science, and history. Exhibitions and special displays focus on a variety of topics which explore the relationship between medicine and the arts, science and society, patients and practitioners, and the technology of medicine.

In addition to NLM resources, the NNLM provides a variety of guides, toolkits, resources and more to help in serving your communities with health information. Visit the NNLM Guides and Resources webpage.

The NNLM supports access to biomedical and health information with the goal of making data discoverable, accessible, and citable. NNLM RD3: Resources for Data-Driven Discovery has been developed to foster learning and collaboration in data science. In order to support sharing, curating, and annotating biomedical data, NNLM RD3 serves as a resource for librarians, library students, information professionals, and interested individuals to learn about and discuss: library roles in data science; fundamentals of domain sciences; emerging trends in supporting biomedical research.

Visit the NNLM Data Science / Data Management Guides to access resources and learn more about NNLM and data.