The clinical and economic value of health libraries in patient care.

Abstract

Clinicians have long recognised the value of current, authoritative information to support and inform their practice. The concept of evidence-based practice has itself gained acceptance through a substantial body of literature demonstrating how improvements in health care delivery and outcomes can be achieved through the application of the best evidence of clinical practice. Health libraries are core to the provision of information resources in all health-care settings. They have played a leading role in the adoption and dissemination of an unprecedented range of information resources and digital services in a rapidly changing health environment. There is a substantial and growing, body of evidence that health libraries are vital to the delivery of healthcare, both financially and clinically.