United States National Library of Medicine

The United States National Library of Medicine is a medical library in Bethesda, Montgomery County, holding over 17 million books, journals, and manuscripts on biomedical topics. The facility focuses on healthcare information and provides materials for research and medical practice.

The library began in 1836 as a small collection in the office of the US Army Surgeon General and grew over the decades into a large specialized library. It moved to its current site in 1962 and has since expanded its holdings and services continuously.

The institution manages a large digital archive that professionals and researchers worldwide can access at no cost. Medical staff and scientists use these collections daily to find current studies and scholarly work.

The library on Rockville Pike opens on weekdays and offers research support and document retrieval services. Visitors can use the reading rooms and access the collections, with orientation help available onsite.

The facility developed MEDLINE, an electronic database with over 30 million references to scholarly publications from 5,200 medical journals. This resource allows users worldwide to search and locate relevant research findings quickly.

Location: Montgomery County

Inception: 1836

Founders: John Shaw Billings

Address: 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894

Website: https://nlm.nih.gov

GPS coordinates: 38.99510,-77.09930

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:43