Colleges are the great centres of learning in society. In Ireland the Royal College of Surgeons has been one of the most prestigious and respected dispensers of knowledge since it was first granted its charter in 1784.

The nerve centre of any educational establishment is its library, and the RCSI is no exception, with state-of-the-art facilities complementing an impressive collection of medical archives and reference books, many of which date back hundreds of years. However, in keeping with the technological revolution, the emphasis in the RCSI libraries is shifting away from hard copy and the printed word, and into the realm of the digitally encoded. It is fitting that, in the cutting-edge world of medicine, the latest techniques are being employed in the field of research. Therefore, even though the function of the library has not changed as such, the range of services and the quality of delivery have vastly improved.

The working of the library now plays a more important part than ever in the development of those both studying and teaching at the college. In addition to the database of books and journals contained within the physical walls of the building, over the last five years the RCSI has been providing laptop facilities to the students, and these facilities are made available through the auspices of the library. All of the bedrooms in the college will have Internet access, and there is a PC and iMac lab contained within the library itself, so that all facets of digital research are catered for.

Indeed, the RCSI is so committed to maintain its position at the cutting-edge of digital technology that the college has recently received the first consignment of ibooks to Europe from the US.

According to chief librarian Beatrice Doran, the college is trying to develop an electronic library with a number of resources available on the college web pages. Those at the college currently have access to about 350 electronic journals and a variety of comprehensive databases, with the main medical databases available through the college website at www.rcsi.ie/library.

Ms Doran herself is well qualified to judge the quality of the facilities in the libraries due to her vast experience in the field. Having moved to the RCSI in 1991, the idea was always to plan for the 21st century.

To make this a reality, she visited all the major medical libraries in the US and Britain before the design and the technology of the present incarnations in Dublin were finalised. In late 1999 the college began implementing the ALEPH library management system, which is one of the latest client-server systems in use in universities and colleges at the moment. However, one of the biggest innovations carried out by the RCSI in recent times is more human than technological. Early last year, the college appointed Ireland's first bioinformatics librarian, Dr Jennifer Byrne, who has a PhD in biochemistry and a masters in library and information studies from UCD.

THE post is a key element of the bioinformatics core within the Institute of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, which has been funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). The job exists to assess the information needs of researchers.

Once these have been established, strategies will be designed to enhance access to key databases and resources, establish a bioinformatics website, and encourage the use of bioinformatics databases to improve access to research results.

It is this kind of attention to detail and care for research that is singling out the library and functions as a leading player in the medical field. Even though it is one of the most modern libraries in Europe with a great emphasis on IT and electronic resources, its legacy and history cannot be forgotten. It is rich in material on the history of medicine in Ireland and has a vast archive upon which to draw. The library is currently in the process of publishing a catalogue raisonne of antiquarian obstetrics books surveyed by Professor Alan Brown.

Physically, the libraries at the RCSI (Mercer and Beaumont) provide an excellent service to both staff and students. Although they cater for about 250 readers and 1,000 undergraduate students, the ratio of places to students is very good and overcrowding is never really an issue.

The emphasis, according to Beatrice Doran, is on giving the right book to the right person at the right time. Therefore, with a combination of the historically important with the ultra-modern, the RCSI can justifiably claim to be offering the best service possible in the field of medical research.

The libraries are open during term from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Friday, Saturdays 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.