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At the foundation of FDR_x was the drug formulary for UW Medicine published by the Drug Information Center. The DIC pharmacist had contracted with USPDI to receive the full text of its drug information electronically and reformat it into a print, pocket‐sized guide for distribution to clinicians. The goal of the FDR_x project was to add to this core and distribute an expanded drug reference as part of a clinical resource.

Librarians at the University of Washington Health Sciences Libraries collaborated with clinicians to create an electronic federated drug knowledge resource, FDR_x, to be used at the point of care.

Skills and experiences gained in previous projects, e.g. negotiating the licensure of campus‐wide access to bibliographic databases, project leadership, developing interfaces, instruction in the use of information resources, and IAIMS planning, easily transferred to the development of the FDR_x project. The most immediate outcome, FDR_x itself, had a short but successful lifespan, meeting the drug information needs of its users.

This partnership set the stage for future developments in the knowledge management arena at the University of Washington and changes in the roles of librarians.

In the past few years more and more librarians have discovered electronic mail. One indication of this new awareness is the proliferation of library‐specific bulletin boards and computer conferences on established electronic networks like Bitnet and Internet. The number of authors listing e‐mail addresses in library journals has also increased significantly. Conference participants may be asked to give an e‐mail address as well as a regular mail (“snail mail”) address on committee rosters. Some libraries have local area networks that tie them into campus or systemwide networks.