The James Lind Library: explaining and illustrating the evolution of fair tests of medical treatments

The James Lind Library (www.jameslindlibrary.org) has been established to improve public and professional general knowledge about fair tests of treatments in  healthcare  and  their  history.  Its  foundation  was  laid  ten  years  ago  at  the  Royal College  of  Physicians  of  Edinburgh,  and  its  administrative  centre  is  in  the  College’s Sibbald Library, one of the most important collections of historic medical manuscripts, papers and books in the world. The James Lind Library is a website that introduces visitors to the principles of fair tests of treatments, with a series of short, illustrated essays,  which  are  currently  available  in  English, Arabic,  Chinese,  French,  Portuguese, Russian  and  Spanish. A  100-page  book  –Testing Treatments –  is  now  available  free through  the  website,  both  in  English  and  in  Arabic  and  Spanish  translations.  To illustrate the evolution of ideas related to fair tests of treatments from 2000 BC to the  present,  the  James  Lind  Library  contains  key  passages  and  images  from manuscripts, books and journal articles, many of them accompanied by commentaries, biographies, portraits and other relevant documents and images, including audio and video files. New material is being added to the website continuously, as relevant new records are identified and as methods for testing treatments evolve. A multinational, multilingual editorial team oversees the development of the website, which currently receives tens of thousands of visitors every month.