A new library for emergency medicine.

The publication of textbooks that are relevant to emergency medicine has increased rapidly during the past decade. This increase has created confusion in the selection of appropriate texts for both emergency medicine residency and hospital emergency department libraries. A critical review of 703 pre-selected texts was performed. From this review, a recommended list of 165 books for the resident library and 27 books for the emergency department library is suggested. The cost of these libraries is $6,433.05 and $1,230.05, respectively. The libraries are designed to assist emergency physicians and librarians in attaining maximum value in the expensive process of textbook selection.