Veterinary Medicine Books Recommended for Academic Libraries
Crawley-Low, Jill, Journal of the Medical Library Association
This bibliography of in-print veterinary medical books published in English may be used as an acquisitions or evaluation tool for developing the monograph component of new veterinary medicine collections or existing science, technology, and medicine collections where veterinary medicine is in the scope of the collection. The bibliography is divided into 34 categories and consists of bibliographic information for 419 titles. The appendix contains an author/editor index. Prices for all entries are in US dollars, except where another currency is noted. The total cost of all books in the bibliography is $43,602.13 (US).
This bibliography of in-print veterinary medicine books published in English is intended to be used as an acquisitions and evaluation tool for developing the monograph component of new veterinary medicine collections or for supplementing existing science, technology, and medicine collections where veterinary medicine is in the scope of the collection. It may also be used as an evaluation tool by staff of academic libraries that support a veterinary medicine curriculum. It is current as of spring 2004-that is, all titles are listed as in-print on publishers' Websites and in their current catalogs-but not comprehensive. The books listed in this bibliography have been recommended by those who use them: veterinary medicine faculty, graduate students, and librarians.
SCOPE OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHY
Titles were initially selected by the author after examining a variety of sources such as book reviews, subject bibliographies, recommended reading lists prepared by subject specialists, and library catalogs. Critical reviews from expert users were helpful as a selection criterion; in addition, titles were ranked according to frequency of their occurrence in subject bibliographies, recommended reading lists, and library catalogs.
Reviews of popular nonfiction books in science and medicine are common; however, it is more difficult to find high-quality reviews of scientific, technical, and medical books. Reviews written by subject specialists-considered to be the gold standard-were consulted in print and electronic academic journals, as well as in reviewing tools such as the subscription database Global Books in Print.
Other resources are freely available on the Internet; for example, publishers use their Websites to link their books to favorable reviews. Websites are also used to display book reviews on specific topics by individuals or associations. Examples include the Task Force for Veterinary Science Website  that publishes reviews of alternative veterinary medicine books and the Society for General Microbiology that compiles critical reviews of new books in microbiology from two of their journals . Online-only journals, such as Veterinary Sciences Tomorrow: An Online Current Awareness Journal , are also a source of book reviews.
Important books in veterinary medicine have been identified by the frequency with which they occurred in reading lists, selected bibliographies, and library catalogs. Professional organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)  and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS)  publish reading lists of recommended veterinary medical books for study by foreign-trained veterinarians seeking licenses to practice. Certifying bodies such as the European Veterinary Dental College  and the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology  publish subject-specific bibliographies to assist members studying for board examinations in veterinary specialties.
Also, faculty and librarians create useful bibliographies to support the curricula of their institutions. One example is the Veterinary Ethics Bibliography  created by the Webster Veterinary Library of Tufts University. Government agencies also publish bibliographies; an example is the bibliography published by the National Academies' Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) and made available on the Animal Welfare Information Center (AWICS) Website . …