The Canadian Forces Virtual Library (CFVL)

ABSTRACT

This article describes the development and growth of the Canadian Forces Virtual Library (CFVL), a collection of electronic resources for education and professional development available to military and civilian staff of the Canadian Department of National Defence. The CFVL aims to provide the maximum of depth and breadth of content within the special conditions of its environment: English/French bilingualism, secure military computer networks and a large, sometimes far flung organization with many remote or “nomadic” users. The Canadian Forces Health Services benefits from the most recent expansion with the addition of six health and medicine databases from Ebsco.

KEYWORDS:

• Digital libraries
• government libraries
• Canadian Forces Virtual Library (CFVL)
• Bibliothèque virtuelle des Forces canadiennes (BVFC)
• Canadian Armed Forces
• Forces armées canadiennes

Comments and suggestions should be sent to the Column Editors: Grace A. Ajuwon (E-mail: [email protected]); Peggy Fond (E-mail: [email protected]); or Amanda Ross-White (E-mail: [email protected]).

Notes

1. Throughout this article numbers, quoted mission statements and DND/CF information have been taken directly from DND Web pages freely available on the Internet and accessible via one or more search engines: Google, Yahoo!, and MSN. Billie Kahlon and Philip Allan, the medical librarians at the Major-General Barr Library in Borden, Ontario, and the Health Services Headquarters Library in Ottawa, Ontario, respectively, kindly provided information about their libraries in private communications.

5. Kahlon B. Letter to author. 7 Nov 2007.