Established in 1956, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) was charged to acquire and preserve books, periodicals, prints, films, recordings, and other library materials pertinent to medicine. Since the establishment of the NLM, significant effort has been devoted to carrying out preservation responsibilities. In 1983, the Library Operations (LO) senior staff included the development and implementation of a preservation program of the biomedical literature as one of four broad objectives in the LO 1984-88 strategic plan. A senior preservation planning team was appointed to analyze the state of the NLM collections, its environment, and use, and to present available options for preservation. The planning process used for this project was modeled on a self-study procedure developed by the Office of Management Studies (OMS) of the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) and described in "Preservation Planning Program: An Assisted Self-Study Manual for Libraries." This report documents the team's findings and presents a recommended plan of action for the library. Following an introduction and executive summary, the report covers: collection condition, physical facilities and environment, collection use and maintenance, present level of preservation activity at NLM, current state of preservation technology, external factors affecting NLM's preservation plan, and recommended strategies for preservation. Six appendices are included: a background paper; a list of task force members; procedures used in surveying the physical condition of the collection; indoor pollutant measurements of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxides, and ozone; draft preservation policy; and rationale and functions of the proposed preservation section. A brief list of references completes the report. (THC)