Selective use of online literature searching by a drug information service

The use of online searching in a drug information center on a regular but selective basis is described. Of 90-100 information requests received monthly in a university-affiliated drug information center located within the health sciences library, five to eight computer searches are performed. All other questions are answered using a manual search. The computer searches are conducted by a medical librarian who works closely with the pharmacist. For each search, the library charges the drug information center for at least 12 minutes of connect time; charges cover the library's direct costs only. The drug information center is staffed by a director and assistant director; in addition, Pharm.D. students and clinical pharmacy residents work there. Factors influencing the decision to do an online rather than a manual search include budgetary constraints, how quickly an answer is needed, the success of a preliminary manual search, and the complexity of the request. Considerations for conducting online searches through a library rather than by the staff of the drug information center include requisite search skills, costs, and accessibility to computer search services. The selective use of online searches through a health sciences library is a viable means of accessing online information in a drug information center that cannot support its own online literature-retrieval system.