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A Library for Internists IX: Recommendations from the American College of Physicians*
- Mark E. Frisse, MD; and
- Valerie Florance, MLS, PhD
- *Because of space constraints, a condensed version of “A Library for Internists IX” is published here. For the full-text version, which includes annotations of the materials listed, readers are referred to the American College of Physicians' World Wide Web site (www.acponline.org). Reprints will contain the full text. The Library for Internists Core Committee of the American College of Physicians was chaired by Drs. Mark E. Frisse and Valerie Florance. Dr. Frisse is the Director of the Bernard Becker Medical Library and Associate Dean for Academic Information Management, Washington University School of Medicine (St. Louis, Missouri). Dr. Florance is the Director of the Edward G. Miner Library, University of Rochester Medical Center (Rochester, New York), and is an assistant professor for the School of Nursing and the School of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Rochester. Other members of the Library for Internists IX Core Committee include Frank Davidoff, MD, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Brad Evanoff, MD, St. Louis, Missouri; Daniel P. Sulmasy, OFM, MD, PhD, Washington, DC; Margaret Tempero, MD, Omaha, Nebraska; and Mark J. Utell, MD, Rochester, New York. Acknowledgments: We appreciate the long hours and hard work provided by staff members of the American College of Physicians, particularly Erin J. Bernhardt, project coordinator, and Susan Perry, creator of the database that produced the Library. Ms. Bernhardt corresponded with committee members, nominators of books, and publishers; maintained and updated relevant files; collated and edited the final bibliography; and checked the accuracy of citations. We are also grateful for the time, energy, and ideas provided by the members of the Library for Internists IX Core Committee, who took significant time to scrutinize the nominated works. Finally, we thank all who sent in nominations, for without their contributions none of this would have been possible. Requests for Reprints: Customer Service, American College of Physicians, Independence Mall West, Sixth Street at Race, Philadelphia, PA 19106-1572. Telephone, 800-523-1546; fax, 215-351-2594.
The American College of Physicians has compiled its ninth library of reference materials designed to help internists and community libraries acquire and apply current knowledge in internal medicine. The Library for Internists began as a compilation of printed materials, but now that powerful computers and computer networks have become ubiquitous, its character is changing to include electronic information resources that will eventually compose a virtual medical library.
The subcommittee charged with the task of approving this version of the Library faced the same two-pronged dilemma experienced by all students of medicine. First, substantive medical knowledge continues to grow at an increasing pace; remaining current in even a portion of a medical discipline today requires far more knowledge than was needed decades ago. Second, the mechanisms by which medical knowledge is created and disseminated are growing at an equally rapid rate. By the time the “A Library for Internists IX” is disseminated, new Internet-based medical libraries and clinical information will have been introduced by publishers, professional societies, and information systems vendors. In the near future, a new class of intelligent agents, information filters, collaboration tools, and clinical information not even blueprinted will be in use.
Accordingly, the Library's mission is to address both elements of this dilemma. First, we introduce many traditional medical textbooks and reference works that cover the growing subfields of medicine. Many of these works are available in electronic form. Second, we provide a listing of representative software programs, professional organizations, and other resources that will help internists build bridges to these emerging digital medical libraries.
Selection of Resources
The list of books in this edition of the Library was generated by an array of medical information experts and was expanded by recommendations from practicing general internists. College members were the major source of nominations of medical resources. The College Officers, …
