Results of a Questionnaire Survey on the Current Status of Databases and Electronic Resources Implemented and Used in School of Pharmacy Libraries

Abstract

To clarify database licensing in pharmacy school libraries nationwide, we conducted a questionnaire survey. Responses were obtained from 54 universities (66.7% response rate). Regardless of governance, Ichushi Web, Medical Online, and SciFinder were licensed by over 85% of libraries. In contrast, the licensing rate for some clinical decision-support tools, such as UpToDate, was significantly higher at universities with an affiliated medical school, confirming a gap relative to non-affiliated institutions. Amid escalating prices, the results also suggest that stand-alone universities are concentrating limited budgets on basic science resources. To reduce these access disparities, collaboration beyond organizational boundaries is needed to build a sustainable and equitable infrastructure for scholarly information provision.