 The library strove to provide "an universal library of references".In 1879 the library began publishing "Index Medicus", a periodical listing the titles of current medical articles, books, reports, and other medical literature.This achievement, as well as the creation of the "Index Catalogue of the Surgeon General's Office" (1880), was largely the legacy of Dr. John Shaw Billings, Director of the Library from 1865 to 1895.