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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2001) 178: 277
© 2001 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Correspondence

Book reviews in the electronic age

A. Thompsell

Maudsley Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AZ

EDITED BY MATTHEW HOTOPF

Doctors, perhaps more than any other professionals, need to keep abreast of their subject. They need every encouragement to do this. Crown et al (2000) gave us a valuable reminder of the importance of book reviews in stimulating interest in new publications. As a reader, I enjoy a mixture of reviews, from reviews of leading textbooks to a review of a biography of Iris Murdoch, who suffered from dementia (Garner, 2000). Book reviews are a valuable part of the Journal.

But technology has moved on and the printed word is no longer the only way in which doctors obtain information or exchange ideas. The internet is increasingly becoming the first recourse for doctors seeking information. It is also being used more and more by patients, who come to the doctor clutching triumphantly printouts of material downloaded from the web. A patient may not always fully understand the latest paper he or she has found on the website of an American university, but will soon lose confidence in the doctor if he or she is entirely unaware of it.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of medical websites, and the busy practitioner needs guidance as to which are worthwhile and which are not. It would be an immense service to readers if the Book Review Editors could extend the valuable work they do to encompass the new medium of the internet.

REFERENCES

Crown, S., Lee, A., Ramsay, R., et al (2000) And now the book reviews...British Journal of Psychiatry, 177, 388 -389.[Free Full Text]

Garner, J. (2000) When the badgers broke in. Old Age Psychiatrist, Autumn, 7 -8.





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