Access to library resources for Members and Candidates
19 November 2019
The College has been investigating a number of ways to improve Candidate and Member access to library resources. Due to the significant increase in copyright regulations, we have been unable to identify a feasible corporate partnership with any university. Fortunately, most journals are transitioning to an “open access” format in which full content is freely accessible to all. A summary of current open access journals, which may be of interest to Candidates and Members can be found here.
Additional resources have been investigated on behalf of Members. In Australia, the resident of each state is eligible to join their local state library for free. The holdings of each library vary but may include useful textbooks which can be accessed remotely. For example, on a brief search of the State Library of QLD, subscriptions to The Veterinary Record and The Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research were found in addition to the electronic textbooks: Small Animal Ophthalmology What's Your Diagnosis, Small animal gastroenterology, Veterinary Ophthalmology (Two Volume Set), and Equine ophthalmology. Members and Candidates are encouraged to join their State Library to discover what resources may be relevant to them.
In general, most universities allow members of the public to become community members. This will then allow borrowing of a limited (usually 3) number of books from their library collections in addition to unlimited access to eResources onsite through library computers. Although such memberships do not provide remote access, they do provide opportunities for those that are in close vicinity to a relevant university.
The only other method of providing our Members and Candidates access to electronic resources is through a paid contracted subscription to either/both of the publishing houses of Elsevier or Wiley Blackwell. The cost of this would then need to be distributed through increased annual fees to Members. The current cost of subscription to the 13 most relevant veterinary journals published by Wiley annually would result in a cost increase of $15 per year to each Member. Comments are welcome from Members on whether there would be support in the future for the College to investigate paid subscriptions to select resources which may benefit a broad spectrum of Members.