Information resources that are free to use are always helpful to keep on hand, no matter where your library is at in the fiscal year or annual budget cycle. This is especially in the health sciences, where premier resources and tools often come at a great cost. It�s important for libraries to complement their collections, instruction, and outreach with openly available tools and databases. No matter what type of library you work in, it�s inevitable that your users will come and go, with variable access to paid resources when they�re no longer affiliated with your institution or library. Equipping your library to instruct on and actively use open or free resources will help ensure your users build skills and awareness they can carry forward when their paid access runs out.

To assist in building your collection, here are six Doody�s review of free resources your library can make use of today!

DailyMed

�DailyMed is a free database launched in 2006 and provided by the National Library of Medicine, dedicated to making available detailed labeling and instructions of FDA-approved prescription and nonprescription drugs for humans and animals�. Its greatest strength is the access to free, current �in use� FDA drug labeling, presented in a standardized format.� Rebecca Drouhard, MLIS

Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)

�DOAB is, at its heart, a free directory of books that are freely available to read and share online�.Whether or not DOAB provides utility for medical collection development librarians varies greatly from librarian to librarian and from institution to institution, but it is worth exploring and understanding this website�s strengths and limitations.� Peter McCracken, MSLS

Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed)

�LactMed is a freely available, peer-reviewed drug information database focusing on the effects of drugs and chemicals found in breast milk during lactation. As not every institution or healthcare provider can subscribe to more cost-prohibitive proprietary resources, accessing a free database like LactMed is essential. Health sciences and hospital librarians should continue to include LactMed in their personal research toolkits and promote it in their resource guides.� Brittany Heer, MLIS

Epistemonikos

�Epistemonikos is an open access, multilingual, health decision-making tool that is freely available to anyone with internet access�.Because it is open access and focused primarily on answering health-related questions with higher levels of evidence like systematic reviews, it could be an alternative resource for smaller libraries or labs that may not be able purchase expensive platforms like Cochrane.� Sarah Hughes, MSLIS, MA

medRxiv

�medRxiv, a non-profit preprint server for the health sciences�hosts complete, unpublished preprint manuscripts�[It] is still a valuable preprint resource for those interested in open science, rapid research dissemination, and alternative publishing avenues.� Elizabeth Hinton, EdD, MSIS, AHIP

Sigma Repository

�The Sigma Repository�is an open database of?gray literature provided by the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. It is intended for use by the nursing community, nursing students in particular, as a free source of information on nursing topics�.Its large collection of articles, dissertations, posters, and presentations allows nursing students and early career nurses to develop professionally as well as providing examples of scholarship.� Cotton Coslett, MLIS