NLM Resources

ClinicalTrials.gov is the openly available federal registry and results database of publicly and privately funded clinical studies conducted in the United States and around the world. ClinicalTrials.gov is a vital resource for researchers, healthcare providers, patients and their families, and health sciences librarians who wish to consult the entire body of evidence on any particular topic.

This 1 credit-hour on-demand class introduces you to the basic concepts of medical terminologies (including what they are and why they are important), followed by a deep dive into RxNorm, an NLM-authored medical terminology specializing in drug information. Designed for health sciences librarians and other health information specialists seeking to serve more active roles in their health IT team and better support researchers. Expect to spend 1 hour learning through videos and exercises.

This work-at-your-own-pace class takes place over 3 weeks and will be available to you 24/7 in Moodle, our online learning management system. There are no set hours to be online each week. It should take you about 2 hours each week. 

This interactive tutorial provides a guided tour of the MedlinePlus website, a trusted reference when answering health information questions. 

This tutorial takes about 1 hour to complete.

Join NLM staff for a highlight tour summarizing the annual updates for Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).

Every year, updates are made to MeSH, the NLM controlled vocabulary thesaurus used for indexing articles for PubMed and for cataloging books and other resources. This annual webinar aims to introduce those changes and provide examples of how the changes may affect you as a PubMed searcher. For more information about MeSH, see the MeSH homepage.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) employs an authorized classification scheme called the NLM Classification. Designed for librarians who are creating or using a bibliographic record, this course will provide a basic overview of the NLM Classification, including how to apply Classification numbers, how to interpret NLM Call numbers, how to use the online NLM Classification system and where to go for more information for specific issues. 

When you search PubMed for a phrase, or multi-word concept, its powerful search features jump into action to retrieve relevant results. Sometimes, however, you may want to use advanced search techniques to look for exact phrases or variations on a phrase. This tutorial will address the questions:  

What are preprints, and how are they changing how biomedical research results are shared?

Should you use information from preprints? Should you share your own research results in a preprint? This course from the National Library of Medicine® explains the basics of preprints, and explores the benefits and considerations of using and submitting preprints.