The development and evaluation of a small ready-reference library collection for a rural practice: a case study.

A demonstration core collection of twenty-four ready-reference sources and five journals was selected cooperatively by a solo practitioner in rural Menifee County, Kentucky, and the University of Kentucky Medical Center Library Field Librarian to fit the ready-reference and current awareness information needs of a primary care solo rural practice in eastern Kentucky. The collection selections were systematically assessed by the physician to determine their utility in filling the practitioner's information needs with regard to his particular situation in terms of medical experience and level of training, available library and educational resources, and the type of health problems seen in his practice. This assessment showed that the Rural Demonstration Library Collection completely filled the information needs of the physician 66% of the time materials were consulted and filled his immediate information needs either completely or partially 82% of the time the collection was searched. This demonstration has shown that, under a specific set of circumstances, a librarian and a solo rural practitioner can effectively work together in identifying health sciences materials which fit the information needs of a solo rural practitioner. It suggests that cooperation between a librarian and a physician is important in meeting information needs.