LIBRARY ACCESS TO EVIDENCE: AN ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITE TO EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICE. Deborah Pelletier*; Robert Welles; David Miller; Andrea Taupier; Edward Ramsey Physical Therapy, Springfield College, Springfield, MA UNIQUE: Access to electronic search databases is not available for all clinical sites and some clinical instructors (CI) may not have the experience to conduct an efficient search of the current literature. Academic institutions are in an excellent position to expand access and provide the training to support the needs of practicing therapists who serve in clinical education. Library Access is a new program designed to meet the needs of clinical instructors and to promote access to and use of on-line electronic searches as a component of evidence-based practice (EBP). PURPOSE: The purpose of Library Access was to use the resources of the academic institution to reduce or eliminate potential barriers that CI′s encounter in searching for evidence-based literature in support their clinical practice. FOUNDATION: EBP requires that physical therapists have access to current research literature and databases. Increased access and training will facilitate use of EBP thereby strengthening clinical education experiences for students. DESCRIPTION: A letter announcing Library Access was sent to 477 active clinical sites. Clinical sites expressing an interest were assigned a password allowing them access to the College′s library system and databases via the Internet. Nine months following the initial mailing there were 38 clinical education sites registered for Library Access. An on-campus training program in the use of the databases for EBP searches was conducted five months after initiation of the program by one of the research librarians in conjunction with a physical therapy faculty member. OBSERVATIONS: Individuals employed at sites distant from an academic institution have welcomed this opportunity for access. Several therapists at centers that had medical libraries wanted the Library Access because it allowed them access to specific databases that were not available at their facility. Following the on-campus training program, all participating clinical instructors described the program as helpful and relevant to their practice. CONCLUSIONS: The Library Access project exemplifies collaborative partnership, shared responsibility and strong administrative support, all identified as essential features of clinical education by the Normative Model of Physical Therapist Professional Education. Providing clinical education sites access to on-line databases and providing the education for efficient searches provides an important opportunity for the academic institution to facilitate EBP as an essential feature of quality clinical education. FUNDING SOURCE: none KEYWORDS: clinical education, Evidence Based Practice, clinical instructor Copyright 2009 by the American Physical Therapy Association. Requests for reprints should be directed to the corresponding author of the article. Educators, students, and other academic customers may receive permission to reprint copyrighted material from Physical Therapy (ISSN 1538-6724) by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center Inc, 222 Rosewood Dr, Danvers, MA 01923. Other types of customers who want permission to reprint should contact the APTA Editorial Office, Attn: Physical Therapy.