Smoking in the boardroom. Card catalogs. Keypunch equipment. Get a blast from the past in this 1963 film about the National Library of Medicine.

You can hear Senator Lister Hill and catch a glimpse of famed heart surgeon Michael DeBakey and former NLM director Frank Bradway Rogers.

Back in the day, questions came in each year by mail, phone, and in person from every continent. The volume of scientific literature was increasing, and in 1963, it was predicted that the total articles to be indexed would soon exceed 180,000 annually.

Today, NLM indexes over 750,000 items each year, and our collection exceeds 26 million.

But some things remain the same. We’re still dedicated to acquiring, maintaining, and sharing the finest and most complete collection of medical information possible.