Welcome The National Library of Medicine to The Commons!

We are excited to welcome the The National Library of Medicine (NLM), the world’s largest biomedical library, to The Commons.

Physician taking temperature of young patient

Located on the campus of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, it has been a center of information innovation since its founding in 1836. NLM maintains and makes available a vast print collection and produces electronic information resources on a wide range of topics that are searched billions of times each year by millions of people around the globe.

NLM’s History of Medicine Division collects, preserves, makes available, and interprets one of the world’s richest collections of historical material related to human health and disease for diverse audiences. Holdings include pre-1914 books, pre-1871 journals, archives and modern manuscripts, medieval and Islamic manuscripts, a collection of printed books, manuscripts, and visual material in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean; historical prints, photographs, films, and videos; pamphlets, dissertations, theses, college catalogs, and government documents.

George Mayerle test chart

The first seven health related albums uploaded by the National Library of Medicine include Selection from the Book Hidden Treasure, as well as selections of Posters, other Prints and Photographs.

We hope you’ll enjoy the initial collection and contribute your knowledge to help build and document the history of mankind.

Cocaine Toothache Drops
Posted By
Kay Kremerskothen

Kay is a Community Manager for Flickr and passionate about extraordinary photography. As an editor on Flickr Blog he loves to showcase the beauty and diversity of Flickr in his posts. When he's not blogging or making Flickr more awesome (in front of and behind the scenes), you can find him taking pictures with his beloved Nikon and iPhone, listening to Hans Zimmer's music or playing board games. | On Flickr you can find him at https://flic.kr/quicksilver