Introducing the National Library for Health Skin Conditions Specialist Library

The aims, scope and audience of the new NLH Skin Conditions Specialist Library, and the composition and functions of its core Project Team, Editorial Team and Stakeholders Group are described. The Library's collection building strategy, resource and information types, editorial policies, quality checklist, taxonomy for content indexing, organisation and navigation, and user interface are all presented in detail. The paper also explores the expected impact and utility of the new Library, as well as some possible future directions for further development.The Skin Conditions Specialist Library is not just another new Web site that dermatologists might want to add to their Internet favourites then forget about it. It is intended to be a practical, "one-stop shop" dermatology information service for everyday practical use, offering high quality, up-to-date resources, and adopting robust evidence-based and knowledge management approaches.Dermatology is currently undergoing enormous changes in the way it is practised, and much of this is a result of a fundamental change in the manner in which information is exchanged through information technology and the Internet. The Web is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool for healthcare professionals caring for people with skin disease in their everyday clinical practice [1-8].There are many quality online information resources on skin conditions, but locating these sources of information quickly and easily, and bringing together related information into one place, remains a big challenge for the average Internet user. Internet search engines such as Google http://www.google.com webcite or Google Scholar http://scholar.google.com/ webcite can be tried, but such an approach can be very time consuming and frustrating. Search engine results, including those from Google, contain too much "noise" in the form of irrelevant or low-quality material. Choosing suitable search terms, including skin disease or drug synonyms/variants, is