What we do
We create exhibitions to enhance awareness and appreciation of the NLM’s trusted health information resources. Our exhibitions feature the library’s rich collections, which encompass ten centuries of medical knowledge. As part of a U.S. national library, we seek to advance public understanding of how the past informs the present—and can shape the future.
Our exhibitions 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. Subjects of these exhibitions include the history of lead poisoning in America, the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, African American academic surgeons, and the history of women physicians, among others.
These websites feature curated selections of digitized books, images, ephemera, films, and historical documents from the NLM Digital Collections, the library’s health information resources, educational activities, and more. Some titles include This Lead Is Killing Us: A Century of Citizens Fighting Lead Poisoning in Their Communities, Care and Custody: Past Responses to Mental Health, and Visible Proofs: Forensic Views of the Body. For more, go to Exhibitions.
The Network of National Library of Medicine (NNLM) makes these graphic, roll-up banner displays free of charge via Calls for Requests. Some titles include Politics of Yellow Fever in Alexander Hamilton’s America, Graphic Medicine: Ill-Conceived and Well-Drawn!, and Pick Your Poison: Intoxicating Pleasures and Medical Prescriptions. To learn more about the request and booking process, go to Host NLM Traveling Exhibitions.