A new online exhibition, Making the Greatest Medical Library in America, showcases a selection of 19th century pamphlets acquired early in the NLM’s history from
A new online exhibition, Making the Greatest Medical Library in America, showcases a selection of 19th century pamphlets acquired early in the NLM’s history from
Anderson R. Abbott is among 13 known African Americans that served as surgeons during the American Civil War and one of only two that were commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.
An interview with Alice Weinreb, PhD on her NLM History Talk and her research on anorexia nervosa in the 20th century.
A new online exhibition, Making the Greatest Medical Library in America, showcases a selection of 19th century pamphlets acquired early in the NLM’s history from
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about Forensic Medicine
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2024/01/18/nlm-collections-tour-forensic-medicine/
By Erika Mills ~ On a quest to bring together and catalog the world’s medical knowledge, John Shaw Billings, an Army surgeon and book collector
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2023/12/21/making-the-greatest-medical-library-in-america/
By Erika Mills ~ For centuries, people used willow bark to treat pain and fevers. However, it was not until the late 1800s that scientists
By Erika Mills ~ Today’s artificial intelligence and computer science technologies can identify a person, infer one’s emotions and tendencies, and provide insights about one’s
Libraries, museums, and organizations throughout the United States and across the world host National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibitions. These sites plan and present
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about Climate and Health.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2023/04/20/nlm-collections-tour-climate-and-health/
By Erika Mills~ World Health Day happens on April 7th every year, marking the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). For
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2023/04/06/picturing-health-for-all-on-world-health-day/
By Kelly West ~ When I consider that I was once a sickly, premature baby brought into this world while my mother was on the
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2023/03/09/revealing-data-reflections-on-the-apgar-score/
By Erika Mills ~ African Americans have always practiced medicine, as physicians, healers, midwives, or “root doctors.” Early black physicians became skilled practitioners, trained generatio...
An interview with Richard M. Mizelle, Jr. on his NLM History Talk and his work on health disparities.
By Krista Stracka ~ Happy New Year! Before we dig into 2023, we’re taking a moment to count down last year’s most-liked Instagram posts from
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2023/01/12/top-9-of-2022-from-nlm-collections-on-instagram/
By Erika Mills ~ People have studied and speculated about the innerworkings of the body for millennia, but there had been few efforts to illustrate
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2022/12/08/dream-anatomy/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about aging.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2022/09/22/nlm-collections-tour-aging/
By Erika Mills ~ English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616) created characters that are among the richest and most recognizable in all of literature.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2022/06/23/shakespeare-and-the-four-humors/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about nutrition.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2022/05/19/nlm-collections-tour-nutrition/
The National Library of Medicine recently redesigned the online presentation of its exhibition Emotions and Disease. Held in the Library’s building in Bethesda, MD, 25
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2022/05/12/emotions-and-disease/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. To commemorate the 40 years that the US has been responding to the crisis, this post features materia...
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/12/09/nlm-collections-tour-hiv-aids/
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Theodore (ted) Kerr to discuss his research in the AIDS poster collection at the National Library of Medicine and his
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/12/01/aids-posters-a-community-tool-used-to-save-lives/
By Erika Mills ~ This year, October 24–30 is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. Exposure to lead can cause neurological and cognitive issues, kidney damage,
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/10/14/national-lead-poisoning-prevention-week/
By Erika Mills ~ People continually create and recreate history, adjusting their focus to find answers to ever-changing questions. Over the past 200 years, physicians,
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/09/16/so-whats-new-in-the-past/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring materials intended to help people learn about and manage their own health.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/08/26/nlm-collections-tour-health-at-home/
By Krista Stracka ~ The National Library of Medicine is pleased to announce that we have joined Instagram! Follow @nlm_collections to see highlights from our
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/07/30/follow-nlm-collections-now-on-instagram/
By Erika Mills ~ In 1970, the National Library of Medicine featured an exhibition about pollution called The Darkening Day. The modern environmental movement had
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/07/01/fifty-years-ago-the-darkening-day/
By Erika Mills ~ In the June 5, 1981 edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the CDC described a rare lung infection
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/06/04/june-5-1981-the-first-report-of-aids-in-the-u-s/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about mental health.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/05/20/nlm-collections-tour-mental-health/
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about vaccines.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2021/03/05/nlm-collections-tour-vaccines/
By Erika Mills ~ Immigration and migration are important parts of the American story; and health care and medicine have played a role in inclusion
By Erika Mills ~ Around the world, communities, in collaboration with scientists, advocates, governments, and international organizations, are taking up the challenge to prevent illness
Welcome to a virtual tour of the historical collections of the National Library of Medicine. Today we are featuring collections about epidemics.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/12/17/nlm-collections-tour-epidemics/
Libraries, museums, and organizations throughout the United States and across the world host National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibitions. These sites plan and present
Circulating Now interviewed Ashley Bowen, Ph.D., about her NLM History Talk “Rise, Serve, Lead… And Publish: Including Women Physicians’ Writings in Rise, Serve, Lead: America’s Women Ph...
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/11/24/rise-serve-lead-and-publish/
Libraries, museums, and organizations throughout the United States and across the world host National Library of Medicine (NLM) traveling exhibitions. These sites plan and present
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/10/15/making-exhibition-connections-new-college-of-florida/
NLM collection items reveal how data has informed scientists’ understanding of Zika and its impact on the health of individuals and communities around the world.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/06/18/revealing-data-learning-about-zika/
By Kaveri Curlin ~ Dr. Leonidas Berry was born into a strong religious tradition. According to his 1982 autobiography I Wouln’t Take Nothin’ For My
By Patricia Tuohy~ I am not an historian of medicine. However, many of the historians of medicine with whom I’ve worked have wryly talked about
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2020/04/30/nlm-exhibitions-and-epidemics/
Francisco Fajardo and Jorge Perez talk about hosting Surviving and Thriving.
Now open at NLM, a special display featuring a selection of images drawn from our Prints & Photographs collection. Since the 1950s, the WHO has commissioned photojournalists to capture the trans...
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/10/03/world-health-organization-picturing-health-for-all/
By Laura Hartman ~ On September 5, 2019, NLM welcomed twenty attendees from the 44th International Congress for the History of Pharmacy for a tour
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/09/19/hosting-the-congress-for-the-history-of-pharmacy/
Libraries, museums, and organizations throughout the United States and across the world host National Library of Medicine traveling exhibitions. These sites plan and present enriching
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/08/15/making-exhibition-connections-lamar-soutter-library/
Libraries, museums, and organizations throughout the United States and across the world host National Library of Medicine traveling exhibitions. These sites plan and present enriching
In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the first commercial available vaccine to prevent rubella, NLM launched the exhibition Rashes to Research: Scientists and Parents
By Tannaz Motevalli, Sarah Eilers, Laura Hartman, and Erika Mills In the previous blog post “Data Science in Politics of Yellow Fever: Medical Research Before
When data is processed and analyzed it becomes actionable information.
Mosquito control education materials from the early 20th century—from changing the landscape to chemical insecticides.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/05/09/trapping-mosquitoes-at-home/
To commemorate Women’s History Month, NLM launched the exhibition Rise, Serve, Lead! America’s Women Physicians on March 4th. Rise Serve Lead! features a database of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/03/21/rise-serve-lead-celebrating-virginia-apgar/
To commemorate Women’s History Month, NLM launched the exhibition Rise, Serve, Lead! America’s Women Physicians on March 4th. Rise Serve Lead! features a database of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2019/03/14/rise-serve-lead-americas-women-physicians/
An interview with the curator of the newest exhibition at NLM, which explores how Philadelphia’s anxious residents responded to the epidemic using an uneasy blend of science and politics.
National Library of Medicine traveling exhibitions are hosted throughout the United States and across the world. The host libraries, museums, and organizations plan and present
The National Library of Medicine announces new public access to more than 1,600 materials selected and digitized from the Leonidas H. Berry Papers, 1907–1982 manuscript
The National Library of Medicine announces new public access to more than 1,600 materials selected and digitized from the Leonidas H. Berry Papers, 1907–1982 manuscript
The National Library of Medicine announces new public access to more than 1,600 materials selected and digitized from the Leonidas H. Berry Papers, 1907–1982 manuscript
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2018/07/18/ephemera-in-the-dr-leonidas-h-berry-collection/
The National Library of Medicine provides public access to more than 1,600 materials selected and digitized from the Leonidas H. Berry Papers, 1907–1982.
National Library of Medicine traveling exhibitions are hosted throughout the United States and across the world. The host libraries, museums, and organizations plan and present
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2018/06/22/making-exhibition-connections-melnick-medical-museum/
National Library of Medicine traveling exhibitions are hosted throughout the United States and across the world. The host libraries, museums, and organizations plan and present
By Jill L. Newmark ~ When the idea for an exhibition on graphic medicine was initially introduced in the Exhibition Program at the National Library
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2018/04/17/graphic-medicine-a-personal-story/
On March 1, 2018, at 2:00 PM ET in the Lister Hill Auditorium at the National Library of Medicine, NLM Director Patricia Brennan, RN, PhD
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2018/02/27/a-conversation-about-graphic-medicine/
By Erika Mills ~ In works of graphic medicine—an emerging field of medical literature—patients and their loved ones, caregivers, and health professionals tell stories about
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2018/01/18/graphic-medicine-ill-conceived-and-well-drawn/
By Patricia Tuohy and Erika Mills ~ Graphic medicine—the use of comics or graphic narratives in health care discourse, is an emerging form of medical
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/12/06/new-ideas-at-the-nlm-graphic-medicine/
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Jennifer Butler Keeton from Florence-Lauderdale Public Library in Florence, AL. Drawn from a presentation given as part of a bimonthly
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Thomas Lawrence Long from University of Connecticut School of Nursing. Drawn from a presentation given as part of a bimonthly
By Jeffrey S. Reznick ~ David J. Skorton, Secretary of the Smithsonian and a board-certified cardiologist, recently honored the National Library of Medicine (NLM) with
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/09/15/hosting-the-secretary-of-the-smithsonian/
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Eva Sclippa, formerly at The Libraries at Alfred University in New York State and currently at the University of North
By Jill L. Newmark ~ One of the joys of working in the History of Medicine Division of the National Library of Medicine is engaging
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/08/17/reflections-on-history-and-harry-potter/
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers Nicole Hughes and Donna Smith, from the Palm Beach County Library System, in Florida. Drawn from a presentation given as
By Jill L. Newmark ~ For centuries, people have used plants to cure illness and treat wounds. Medicinal properties of plants have been studied by
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/06/29/harry-potters-world-and-the-nlm-herb-garden/
Stephen J. Greenberg, PhD, will speak on June 29, 2017 at 2:00 in the Lister Hill Auditorium at the National Library of Medicine on “Monsters
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/06/28/monsters-in-the-stacks-how-harry-potter-came-to-nlm/
By Nicole Orphanides ~ In 1997, 10-year-old Harry Potter waved his wand for the first time and filled the minds of readers with magic and
Elizabeth Bland, M.A., will speak on June 27, 2017 at 2:00 in the Lister Hill Auditorium at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) on “A
By Erika Mills ~ J. K. Rowling published Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the debut novel in the seven-book series that became a pop
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/06/22/circulating-now-celebrates-20-years-of-harry-potter/
Fire and Freedom: Food and Enslavement in Early America recognizes the ways in which meals can tell us how power is exchanged between and among different peoples, races, genders, and classes.
Loren Miller, PhD, will speak at 2 PM on February 14, 2017 at the NIH Natcher Conference Center on “Collaboration and Curation: Creating the Exhibition
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2017/02/07/collaboration-and-curation/
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Loren Miller, PhD. Dr. Miller is a curatorial assistant at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/11/15/the-birth-of-the-physician-assistant/
Psyche Williams-Forson, PhD, will speak at 2 PM on November 3 at the National Library of Medicine on “Fire and Freedom: Food and Enslavement in
By Patricia Tuohy The National Library of Medicine partners with hundreds of libraries and cultural institutions across the country and around the world in an
By Jennifer Brier, Anne Armstrong, Julie Kutruff, Erin Carlson Mast, Patricia Tuohy Creative individuals and institutions in Washington, DC have moved beyond what often comes
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/08/09/power-to-the-people-washington-gives-back/
By Erika Mills Around 3.2 billion people—nearly half the world’s population—are at risk for malaria. In 2015, 214 million were infected and 438,000 died of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/04/25/setting-our-sights-on-a-world-without-malaria/
This post is the last in a series exploring the history of nursing and domestic violence from Dr. Catherine Jacquet.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/03/08/change-is-possible/
This post is the fourth in a series exploring the history of nursing and domestic violence from the guest blogger Catherine Jacquet, Assistant Professor of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2016/01/26/nurses-organize/
Beatrix Hoffman is guest curator of the NLM exhibition, For All the People: A Century of Citizen Action in Health Care Reform.
Feminist activists and women’s organizations have been involved in health care reform debates in the U.S. for over a century.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/12/17/u-s-womens-movements-and-health-care-reform-2/
This post is the third in a series exploring the history of nursing and domestic violence from the guest blogger Catherine Jacquet, Assistant Professor of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/12/15/nurses-on-the-cutting-edge/
This post is the second in a series exploring the history of nursing and domestic violence from the guest blogger Catherine Jacquet, Assistant Professor of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/11/25/medicine-and-wife-abuse-in-the-1970s/
Dr. Beatrix Hoffman is Professor of History at Northern Illinois University and guest curator of NLM’s newest exhibition, For All the People: A Century of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/11/04/for-all-the-people/
This post is the first in a series exploring the history of nursing and domestic violence from the guest blogger Catherine Jacquet, and Assistant Professor
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/10/15/domestic-violence-in-the-1970s/
Dr. Catherine Jacquet spoke today at the National Library of Medicine on “From Private Matter to Public Health Crisis: Nursing and the Intervention into Domestic
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/09/17/from-private-matter-to-public-health-crisis/
By Dan Caughey Photograph postcards, known as “real photo” postcards, were popular mementos to send to loved ones before and during World War I. There
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/06/03/travels-of-a-world-war-i-nurse/
By Jill L. Newmark and Margaret A. Hutto In an operating room at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, February 1980, Dr. Levi Watkins Jr.,
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/05/01/remembering-levi-watkins-jr-1945-2015/
This valentine is postmarked 1913, the year the newly founded Hall Brothers (now Hallmark) first offered Valentines for sale.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2015/02/13/a-valentine-message/
Circulating Now welcomes guest blogger Aline Lin, co-founder and principal of Link Studio, an interactive design and medical illustration company. Aline worked with the Exhibition
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/12/09/partners-in-illuminating-science/
Dr. Jennifer Brier spoke today at the National Library of Medicine on “Surviving and Thriving: The Making of an Exhibition.” Dr. Brier is director of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/12/01/surviving-and-thriving-the-making-of-an-exhibition/
By Alicia Yanagihara When you think of the National Library of Medicine, what comes to mind? Is it a Polynesian canoe? That definitely wasn’t my
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/09/04/a-voyage-to-health-a-connection-to-communities/
Dr. Julia Hallam spoke today at the National Library of Medicine on “Pictures of Nursing: The Zwerdling Postcard Collection.” Dr. Hallam is curator of NLM’s
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/09/02/dr-julia-hallam-on-pictures-of-nursing/
By Erika Mills For over a century, images of nurses and nursing have been featured frequently as the subjects of postcards—so much so that nursing
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/09/02/pictures-of-nursing-the-zwerdling-postcard-collection/
Kelsey Conway spent her summer months as an intern with the Exhibition Program at the National Library of Medicine. She supported the program with its
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/07/31/primary-sources-k-12/
By Erika Mills and Elizabeth A. Mullen ~ Poring over bones left in mass graves and clandestine burial sites, seeking answers that might shed light
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/05/22/remembering-clyde-snow-1928-2014/
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers Diane Wendt and Mallory Warner from the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/05/08/bacterial-sex-a-building-block-for-biotech/
By Ginny A. Roth Nursing is an art: and if it is to be made an art, it requires an exclusive devotion as hard a
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/05/06/nurses-the-heart-of-healing/
Alexander T. Augusta is among 13 known African Americans that served as surgeons during the American Civil War and one of only two that were commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/04/04/a-civil-war-surgeons-books-rediscovered/
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers Diane Wendt and Mallory Warner from the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/03/31/the-magic-in-mold-and-dirt/
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers Diane Wendt and Mallory Warner from the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/02/25/bela-schick-and-serum-sickness/
By Erika Mills The month we celebrate presidential birthdays is upon us again! George Washington was born in Virginia on February 22, 1732. Until his
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/02/21/happy-birthday-mr-president/
Circulating Now welcomes guest bloggers Diane Wendt and Mallory Warner from the Division of Medicine and Science at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2014/01/24/beer-yeast-and-louis-pasteur/
By Erika Mills ~ Currently, 35 million people around the world are living with HIV. Many lack access to vital information and resources that would
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2013/12/01/getting-to-zero-world-aids-day/
Diane Wendt spoke today at the National Library of Medicine on “Vessels, Tubes and Tanks: Historic Biotechnologies at the Smithsonian.” Ms. Wendt is cocurator of
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2013/11/19/vessels-tubes-and-tanks/
By Erika Mills For some, the word “biotechnology” conjures images like super crops and cloned sheep—things created in a laboratory by manipulating DNA. While many
By Erika Mills The advent of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s bred an atmosphere of fear and confusion as people fell ill and died, questions
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2013/10/18/surviving-and-thriving-aids-politics-and-culture/
By Erika Mills In June, the Exhibition Program welcomed nine educators from the Washington, DC area for a Teacher Institute: a 4-day workshop during which
https://circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov/2013/07/30/by-the-teachers-for-the-teachers/
By Erika Mills Greetings from the Exhibition Program! Just in time for our country’s celebration of independence, Circulating Now has been unleashed and we’re eager