If you have ever watched the cooking show, Chopped, you already understand what a strong library can do for your practice. The contestants are given only a few ingredients, but their access to a lavishly stocked pantry allows them to make a gourmet meal. A lavishly stocked library is exactly the same! It builds upon, and compliments, what you already have to optimize the outcome.
The elements that define a strong in-practice library are three-fold: the medical library, the supporting library, and the medical journals.
Medical libraries are a specialized category, "…designed to assist physicians, health professionals, students, patients, consumers, medical researchers, and information specialists in finding health and scientific information to improve, update, assess, or evaluate healthcare. Medical libraries are typically found in hospitals, medical schools, private industry, and in medical or health associations. A typical health or medical library has access to MEDLINE, a range of electronic resources, print and digital journal collections, and print reference books. The influence of open access (OA) and free searching via Google and PubMed has a major impact on the way medical libraries operate."1
