The information resources and services that you use now may not be freely available once you leave academia. One tool you can keep as an alumnus is RefWorks, a online web resource for managing your citations and creating bibliographies.
Here are strategies for getting the information resources you need to practice effectively.
FREE Practice-Focused Publications: Many useful journals supported by advertising costs are free to veterinarians.
- Compendium Click on "Register" at the top right for a free online subscription including back issues to 2001. You will also have access to Compendium Equine, Veterinary Forum, Veterinary Therapeutics, and Product Forum & Market News
- Banfield Journal
- DVM Newsmagazine along with Veterinary Economics and Veterinary Medicine
Association Memberships: Your professional organizations generally provide a subject-specific journal and current news as part of your membership. Related publications may be offered at discounted rates. Be sure to activate the online access for the subscriptions to which you are entitled.
Continuing Education: Continuing education instructors often provide up to date materials on the course topic. If the course is based at an academic institution, you may also be able to spend time at the library before or after the course to look at additional materials. Bring a USB drive to download online articles as many libraries have gone online-only for some veterinary journals.
Libraries:
- Alumni or Friends of the Library relationships with the academic institutions you have attended. Example: The Veterinary Medicine Library offers document delivery services to veterinarians and services for CVM alumni. North Carolina State University offers Friends of the Library membership benefits.
- Public library subscriptions and services may include remote access to collections of full-text journals and newspaper articles. Interlibrary loan may be available at no charge or a minimal cost.
- Example: Durham County Public Libraries - Online Resources includes Academic Search Complete and other medicine and science and business resources from NCLIVE. Academic Search Complete, for example, includes full-text (as of 05/23/13) for the following veterinary titles:
- American Journal of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine - Available from 02/01/2011.
- Anatomia, Histologia, Embryologia: Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series C - Available from 02/01/1998. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Archives of Animal Nutrition - Available from 01/01/1997. Most recent 18 months not available.
- Equine Veterinary Education - Available from 01/01/2010. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Journal of Animal Physiology & Animal Nutrition - Available 02/01/1999. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science - Available from 01/01/1998. Most recent 18 months not available.
- Journal of Veterinary Emergency & Critical Care - Available from 03/01/2003. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Available from 01/01/2008. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A - Available from 02/01/1998.
- Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B - Available from 02/01/1998.
- Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology & Therapeutics - Available from 02/01/1998. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Medical & Veterinary Entomology - Available from 01/01/1998. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Veterinary Anesthesia & Analgesia - Available from 01/01/2000. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Veterinary & Comparative Oncology - Available from 03/01/2003. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Veterinary Dermatology - Available from 03/01/1998. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Veterinary Nursing Journal - Available from 01/01/2011. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Veterinary Ophthalmology - Available from 03/01/1998. Most recent 12 months not available.
- Example: Durham County Public Libraries - Online Resources includes Academic Search Complete and other medicine and science and business resources from NCLIVE. Academic Search Complete, for example, includes full-text (as of 05/23/13) for the following veterinary titles:
- State university or state agency libraries may be open to those living or working within that state.
- National Network of Libraries of Medicine - Loansome Doc service. Arrangements may be made with a medical or veterinary library to provide specific materials you request for a pre-arranged, per-item fee.
Stay Connected with Academia: Maintain an adjunct faculty role or offer to precept students. The students will have remote access to the university resources, and the academic institution may also be able to provide resources or services to you as a preceptor depending on their licensing arrangements.
- AVMA and Partners Web Portal for Veterinarians under development. In the meantime, see Free Access Veterinary Information Resources from the National Library of Medicine
- Drug Information - The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine provides good information. You can get email or RSS feed updates.
- Core Textbooks - Will you keep up to date with the latest edition? Print or electronic?
- Databases (Free) - PubMed and Agricola and others described above are free. International Veterinary Information Service (IVIS) provides online books, proceedings, association news, course and research materials to registered users.
- Trade magazines and newsletters (print, web, or e-mail versions)
- Example: The PoultrySite.com provides industry news, meetings and professional or research groups updates related to poultry health and management. Updates for dairy, beef, pigs, and fish are also available.
- Specific publishers also offer updates from their publications. Example: Veterinary Clinical Digest from Wiley-Blackwell.
- Fee-Based Databases are available such as a veterinary version of CAB Abstracts content called VetMed Resource from CABI Publishing which provides abstracts, some full-text articles, reviews, news and datasheets for a variety of species' medical needs.
- Veterinary Information Network (VIN) - Includes discussion groups, conference proceedings, some full text books and journals, lots of abstracts. Student subscriptions are generally subsidized by sponsors. There are discounted rates for new graduates in their first two years.
Visit the VML's CVM Instruction Support page for other resource guides.
Contact Veterinary Medicine Library Staff for support with exploring any of the options and resources above or ask other questions.
