Title 42 › CHAPTER 6A — PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE › SUBCHAPTER III — NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTES › Part D — National Library of Medicine › subpart 2 — financial assistance › § 286b–5
The Secretary must give money or materials to public or private nonprofit medical libraries and similar scientific information centers. The grants help start, expand, or improve basic medical library resources. Money can pay for four main things: buying books, journals, photos, films, and similar materials; processing and caring for those items (like cataloging and binding); equipment to help people use the library (such as duplication machines, fax machines, film projectors, and recording gear); and new technologies for medical librarianship. The Secretary decides each grant amount by looking at how much the library serves its population. Factors include the number of students and health professionals who use it, the support staff, the faculty and hospital or clinic staff linked to it, and the area served and other nearby services. Grants are set by regulation to try to ensure ongoing funding from other sources. No grant in any fiscal year can be more than $1,000,000.
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The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 286b–5
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102