2019, R2 Digital Library, MEDICINE, REVIEW 

The Charleston Advisor 

R2 Digital Library from Rittenhouse Book Distributors, Inc. is a web-based e-book platform of over 8,000 health science publications in the medical, nursing, and allied health fields covering a wide range of disciplines and specialties from renowned publishers in the health sciences. Librarians are able to purchase e-books on an individual, permanent basis enabling medical libraries of all sizes to build a collection that is specific to the needs of their users. The product’s patron driven acquisition (PDA) model is a distinctive feature that allows a trial access to titles before being considered for purchase. R2 Digital Library offers a variety of authentication options allowing it to be remotely accessed with ease, but does not have a mobile app. The selection of titles is extensive, but would benefit from expansion in specialty areas such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, and psychology and more inclusion of Open Educational Resource (OER) titles. The cost of the product is notably high in regards to the annual fee required to maintain access to one’s collection and in consideration of the price of individual titles in comparison to third party book suppliers which come with just one user license. The intuitive interface, collection development features, unparalleled title list, and customizable nature of the product are key features that will help to balance out the cost of the product, but R2 Digital Library is likely to be best suited for smaller medical libraries that can accommodate a collection with limited user licenses. 

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Behrend, D. (2019c). PsycBOOKS. The Charleston Advisor, 21(2), 24–27. https://doi.org/10.5260/chara.21.2.24