Developing a virtual community for health sciences library book selection: Doody's Core Titles.

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Library and Information Science

Background:

• The availability of effective health sciences selection guides is crucial for academic and medical libraries.
• The Brandon/Hill selected lists, previously a standard for collection development, ceased publication in 2003, creating a need for updated resources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce Doody's Core Titles in the Health Sciences as a novel selection guide.
• To highlight its function as a virtual community for librarians.
• To assess its potential impact on health sciences library collection development.

Main Methods:

• Doody's Core Titles utilizes an online system and a community of experts, including Doody's staff, advisors, content specialists, and library selectors.
• It draws upon Doody's Book Review Service and employs a scoring mechanism, akin to a star rating system, for title evaluation.
• The guide compares its methodology to historical selection tools like the Brandon/Hill lists.

Main Results:

• A new, annually updated selection guide, Doody's Core Titles, has been developed.
• This guide assists health sciences librarians in curating core titles for their collections.
• It covers 119 health sciences specialties and disciplines.

Conclusions:

• Doody's Core Titles effectively addresses the need for a current, expert-driven selection tool in health sciences librarianship.
• Its online community and systematic evaluation process offer a valuable resource for collection development.
• The guide provides a robust framework for identifying essential health sciences literature.