The web-based Library Consult Service represents a natural evolution of the processes of evidence-based practice. Its release as, and reliance on, Free/Open Source Software offers administrators the freedom to modify the system to suit their needs and is likely to be cost effective for experimentation by libraries. As an information system, it connects clinicians who have patient-oriented information needs with clinical librarians who have expertise in search and appraisal of the medical literature. It may also serve as an effective platform for EBM education and research on evidence-based clinical practice.

Reprinted from BioMed Central Ltd.