2011 marks the 175th anniversary of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), part of the National Institutes of Health. The world’s largest medical library and the producer of electronic information resources used by millions of people every day, NLM has changed the way scientific and medical information is organized, stored, accessed, and disseminated. From its founding in 1836 as the library of the U.S. Army Surgeon General to its present position at NIH, NLM’s hallmark has been information innovation, leading to exciting scientific discoveries that ultimately improve the public health.