Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries: Issues and Solutions

Abstract

Electronic Resources in Medical Libraries: Issues and Solutions is a collection of ten articles about issues of electronic access and use of books and journals in medical libraries. Management of electronic resources has become an essential function for medical libraries. “These papers offer some solutions to the issues surrounding electronic resources, and indicate areas for further research” (p. 3). Subjects of the papers include costs and challenges of shifting collections from print to electronic materials; collaborative arrangements and cost sharing that may save on the cost of bundled electronic journals; models for pricing electronic journals, development of electronic journals, and history of pricing; development of open access scholarly publishing and ways open access affects the pricing of subscription journals; and the issue of open access publishing and desired relief for library budgets. Another topic emerges from the development of the new and primarily digital Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q). The WCMC-Q is the first US medical school located outside the United States. “In Qatar, the Distributed eLibrary is accessed via more than 100 computers placed in offices, classrooms, labs, and clusters throughout the medical branch building and accessible through wired and wireless networks” (p. 28). Cooperative activities—initiatives to improve access to health information in Latin America and the Caribbean regions—offer “a perspective on how such limitations were overcome through the establishment in 1967 of a cooperative network between the Pan American Health Organization and Latin America and Caribbean countries” (p. 42). One instance involves two libraries that collaborate to share an electronic journal management system, TDNet, and reviews the implementation of the system. Another example covers the provision of mediated document delivery to off-campus students from the library's online collections or from interlibrary loan. It is of interest that the program does not require students to find the articles themselves. Other topics include the development of a web-based online catalog that integrated the e-collection and the print collection and the peculiar reluctance of courts to permit suits in negligence and strict liability against publishers for erroneous information that leads to harm (p. 101) and reviews of implications for medical libraries. In searching WorldCat for similar books about electronic information resources, this reviewer identified eight titles, but none were specific to medical libraries aside from this book and the Medical Library Association's DocKit #3: Collection Development and Management for Electronic, Audiovisual, and Print Resources in Health Sciences Libraries [1]. As one of only two books cited in WorldCat, this compilation fills a need and makes helpful suggestions for further research. Technology is advancing so rapidly and e-resources are so vital to health care that this book would be helpful to medical libraries in managing resources.