LAUSR

From the late 1980s until his retirement in 2015, I was privileged to observe the forwardthinking and astonishing depth, range, and liveliness of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) under the direction of Donald A. B. Lindberg M.D. As an outsider, I observed from my point of view as an ordinary library researcher. I mainly utilized NLM’s History of Medicine collections for information about innovative scientists like Michael Faraday and medical pioneers such as Dr. Harvey Cushing. Initially, I used the old paper index catalog cards, microfilm, and the early NLM mainframe computer information systems to research and prepare the manuscript for my first book, In the Mind’s Eye, published in spring 1991 [1]. I first met Dr. Lindberg at a gathering after a lecture in NLM’s Lister Hill Building. He asked about my work. I explained that my research focus concerned the talents of dyslexic individuals together with visual thinking in the history of medicine and science. I was surprised to discover that Dr. Lindberg also was interested in these topics. I later learned that these interests were partly a reflection of his personal history. Don’s father was an architect. Don was trained in a highly visual specialty, pathology, and some family members were dyslexic. As is often the case, this kind of personal history helps some to understand and appreciate the puzzling mixed strengths and weaknesses that accompany these life patterns. I also was fascinated that Don’s interests included then-rapidly developing computer graphic technologies as well as the hidden talents of dyslexics (who often see things differently) to innovate and sometimes make scientific discoveries before conventionally trained experts in some fields. Over time, I began to appreciate that Dr. Lindberg had a remarkable ability to see where things were going and attract highly talented and creative people for his staff, NLM’s Board of Regents, and the Library’s diverse, inventive projects. Over the years, Dr. Lindberg assumed leadership positions in several major areas archiving massive amounts of genetic code information (within the National Center for Biomedical Information), providing research information in clinicaltrials.gov, and even leading a federal government-wide effort the High-Performance Computing and