College registrants planning to catch up on reading or working on projects can look to the College Library for support. The Library participates in several sharing networks with both larger and smaller institutions throughout North America to provide registrants with access to as many evidence-based resources as possible.

Locally, the eHLbc (Electronic Health Library of BC) consortium provides many health libraries access to databases, e-books, and journal packages that, individually, many libraries could not afford. Consortia are essential to allow libraries to maximize the impact of often limited budgets and to act as a negotiating bloc with publishers.

The College Library provides access to over 6000 journal titles, but we are not able to subscribe to everything. Through consortia membership and membership in larger lending networks such as Docline (through the US National Library of Medicine), the College Library can access specialty journals, historical materials, books, and other resources from other participating libraries throughout North America on registrants’ behalf.

If we don’t have an article, journal, or book, just ask! In most cases requested articles can be obtained within a day or two. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is limited access to many print collections, both locally and further afield. Most newer journal articles and online book titles are easily accessed, but print-only materials may still take a bit longer to source for digitized copies or may not be available at all right now. Please contact the College Library at medlib@cpsbc.ca [10] for assistance. If requested materials are not available, we are always happy to help find alternatives. 
—Paula Osachoff
Librarian

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This article is the opinion of the Library of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC and has not been peer reviewed by the BCMJ Editorial Board.