Jamie Saragossi, MLS
Head, Health Sciences Library
Stony Brook University 

Overview

This is an update of my previous review of PsychiatryOnline that was published in the February 2016 issue of Doody’s Collection Development Monthly. You can find the original review here: http://dcdm.doody.com/2016/02/review-of-psychiatry-online/.

PsychiatryOnline (POL) is a subscription database for psychiatry and psychology related information hosted by the American Psychiatric Association. One of the main features of the portal is full-text access to the DSM-5. There are various formats of material available on the site including: practice guidelines, ebooks, ejournals, industry news, and continuing medical education opportunities.

Content

New content has been added to the available packages. One item that is consistent across all available subscriptions is the Book of the Month. Each month a new best-selling title is added to one’s subscription. Each of these designated titles is available for 12 months.

Additionally, new ebook collections for psychiatric specialties have been released as add-ons to the traditional subscription. These specialties include addiction psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry. Each of these collections contain between 10-15 titles, many of which are core titles for that specialty.

Another content add-on is the Psychotherapy Library. This library is similar to the specialty collections, but it contains electronic books and the American Journal of Psychotherapy. Topics covered by Psychotherapy Library include cognitive behavior therapy, psychoanalysis, and metalizing, among others. Video content is also integrated into several of the ebook resources.

Features/Functionality

The new add-ons are visible on the home screen regardless of the institution’s package level. Librarians/subscription managers may need to advise patrons about looking for the access icon on the display screen. If a title is included in the institution’s package a green “open” lock icon will appear. If outside of the subscription, the lock icon will be closed and red. A link to purchase the print version of the title is available on the results page as well. This is unfortunately not as clear on the journals page. All journals now link out to a separate landing page that is well designed and easy to navigate. However there is a “subscribe” button on the landing page regardless of the status of an institutional subscription.

Another new feature is the International Tab. Content published by American Psychiatric Association Publishing provides translations of selected content to provide greater access to the literature.

The platform itself now has a more integrated search tool that will pull results from various parts of the collection. The additional platforms help to integrate content while keeping things organized and easy to navigate. Maintaining the home menu regardless of where one is in the product is helpful to keep users connected to the original platform.

Business Model

Changes to the business model include the new add-on libraries previously discussed in the content section. The premium subscription remains intact and institutions can decide how robust they need their collection. The DSM-5 is still available across all levels.

The pricing is accessible at https://www-appi-org.proxy.library.stonybrook.edu/institutions. Considering the titles and the available access, the prices are very fair.

Breakthrough

The content accessible through PsychiatryOnline is essential for students, faculty, and practicing clinicians in any psychiatry or psychology discipline. The platform is easy to navigate, offers unlimited simultaneous users, persistent URLs to the individual titles, and counter compliant statistics.

Upgrades

The additional ebook collections and add-ons are great for users who need to provide an in-depth collection in a specialty, but the fact that the links are visible to all users regardless of the package level can be challenging for librarians and site administrators to explain to end users.