Keeping Up With Veterinary Knowledge

The information resources and services that you use now may not be freely available once you leave academia. Here are some strategies for staying connected to the latest research.

Information Resources

  • PubMed - The National Library of Medicine's database of millions of citations includes millions of articles that are available for free through PubMed Central or their publisher. This interactive tutorial from NLM shows how to limit your search to only articles that are available for free.
  • Veterinary Information Resources - the National Library of Medicine maintains this list of free veterinary resources and databases.
  • Animal & Veterinary Drug Information - The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine provides drug and recall information for veterinarians and consumers.
  • Firstline - Firstline Clinical antimicrobial database includes treatment guidelines and detailed information about pathogens and antimicrobial drugs.
  • VIN: Veterinary Information Network - This fee-based resource includes free memberships for veterinary students and academics, with discounted rates for new graduates in their first two years.
  • Hinari Access to Research for Health - Educational institutions in LMIC (Low and Middle Income Countries) may have access to free or low cost biomedical information resources through this World Health Organization program.
  • Citation managers like RefWorks, Mendeley, or Zotero can help you save and organize journal articles or book chapters that you have downloaded or scanned.

Association Memberships

  • Your professional organizations generally provide a subject-specific journal and current news as part of your membership. Related publications may be offered at discounted rates. Be sure to activate the online access for the subscriptions to which you are entitled.
  • Many professional organizations (AAEP, AABP, etc.) now offer their members interlibrary loan article requests and other services as part of their membership benefits. Check with your professional organization to see what services they provide.

Libraries

  • Look into Alumni or Friends of the Libraries relationships with the academic institutions you have attended.
  • Public library subscriptions and services may include remote access to collections of full-text journals and newspaper articles, and interlibrary loan may be available at no charge or a minimal cost. If you are a North Carolina resident, you can contact your local library to find out about accessing NC Live, which includes full-text access to a number of veterinary journals and other online resources.
  • Depending on your home state, state university or state agency libraries may also be open to those living or working within that state.

Academia & Continuing Education

  • Maintain an adjunct faculty role or offer to precept students. The students will have remote access to the university resources, and the academic institution may also be able to provide resources or services to you as a preceptor depending on their licensing arrangements.
  • Continuing education instructors often provide up-to-date materials on the course topic. If the course is based at an academic institution, you may also be able to spend time at the library before or after the course to look at additional materials.

Contact the Veterinary Medicine Library for support with exploring any of the options and resources above or with any other questions.

Page updated 01/24/24