Providing library resources to 37 medical students at eight remote sites across 2600 km

Abstract

The University of Western Australia’s Rural Clinical School was set up to train a quarter of the medical students for a full year in rural and remote Western Australia. These students need full access to the resources of the medical library so that they are not disadvantaged in comparison to metropolitan students. Setting up library access for small numbers of students across eight sites separated by thousands of kilometres comes with its own set of difficulties. Broadband internet allows access to journals and online books and selected books are provided for each site. Government, Faculty and School policy has facilitated this by ensuring financial resources are available to follow the students. © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.