• Explore PubMed’s Evolution: Discover the history of PubMed, from its beginnings as MEDLARS in the 1960s to its transformation into today’s comprehensive biomedical database.

• Understand PubMed’s Influence on Research: Learn how PubMed has expanded global access to biomedical literature, reshaping the landscape of scientific research and accessibility.

• Master PubMed’s Key Features: Get acquainted with PubMed’s tools and services, including PubMed Central, which play a vital role in promoting open access to scientific knowledge.

Launched by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) in 1997, PubMed has revolutionized the way biomedical information is accessed. It originated in the 1960s as MEDLARS, progressed to MEDLINE in the 1970s, and evolved into the extensive online resource it is today, thanks to the rise of the World Wide Web. PubMed now offers free access to over 36 million citations and abstracts from biomedical and life sciences literature, dramatically impacting global research and healthcare. In 2000, the creation of PubMed Central further enhanced NLM’s mission by providing free full-text access to journal articles. As one of the largest databases in the world, PubMed continues to grow, adding thousands of new records weekly and supporting a wide range of scientific fields.