National Library of Medicine: international cooperation for biomedical communications.

The international programs of the National Library of Medicine may vary in mechanism, but all share the common objective of improved medical research, education, and practice. They are a natural extension of domestic responsibilities and represent a sharing of time, talent, and resources. The programs may be service-oriented, cooperative efforts based on the computerized information storage and retrieval system (MEDLARS), or establishment of regional medical library programs. Policy and operational aspects are presented.