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Introduction 
See also Brandon-Hill and Doody's Lists | Collection development in biomedicine | Top Information Sources in Biomedicine, 2012
The ordering of print books is still an important part of collections management in health and medical libraries. However, in recent years due to online ordering and access to free digital information, its importance has admittedly diminished, and shifted somewhat to online alternatives. While electronic access to monographs and reference textbooks is seen to be inevitable, some medical library users are not able to access their preferred resources due to working behind hospital barriers such as firewalls and too few computers. For several decades, the Brandon-Hill and Doody's Lists have been two of the most popular selection aids for health librarians in evaluating print materials. Many health librarians use them to establish and maintain their library monograph collections. Providing online access to library collections beyond regular opening hours is a challenge for health librarians due to technical issues but also the higher costs associated with licensing/networking.
Canadian context
In Canada, a majority of health and hospital-based librarians order print materials and books through distributors such as Login Brothers, YBP Library Services (Cobi) (formerly Yankee Book Peddlar) and Coutts. With the timely services provided by online vendors such as Amazon.com and other suppliers, the alternatives for ordering books seem to be plentiful. The evaluation and selection of print titles is generally done using iterative models of collection development but collection profiles are also utilized. Health librarians in most smaller hospital libraries work on collection development using a variety of methods, including publishers' catalogues, selection tools and recommendations from users. Of course, the biggest challenge is managing funds for print materials while transitioning print to the online for those same collections.
Key websites
References
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- Johnson L, Smith R, Willis H, Levine A, Haywood K. Horizon Report. Austin, Texas: New Media Consortium; 2011.
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- Morse DJ, Clintworth WA. Comparing patterns of print and electronic journal use in an academic health science library. Issues Sci Technol Libr. 2000.
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- Schnall JG, Fowler S. Essential Nursing Resources. Interagency Council on Information Resources in Nursing; 2012.
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- Vaughan K. Changing use patterns of print journals in the digital age: impacts of electronic equivalents on print chemistry journal use. J Am Soc Inf Sci. 2003;54(12):1149–52.
See also
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