VA Library Network (VALNET)
VALNET: A Longstanding VA Library Network
The Veterans Affairs Library Network (VALNET) is VA’s national library network and community of practice for librarians and library staff. VA libraries have supported Veteran care since the first VA hospital in 1865; today, VALNET connects that history to modern digital tools and librarian expertise.
What VALNET Is
VALNET brings together local medical center libraries, embedded librarians, and nationally supported resources to provide knowledge-based information and services for clinical care, education, research, and operations across VA.
Who VALNET Serves
VALNET supports Veterans, families and caregivers, clinicians and care teams, researchers, students and trainees in affiliated programs, and other VA staff, depending on local services and settings.
What Librarians Do
VALNET librarians partner with you to find, evaluate, and apply information. Services include mediated literature searches, evidence support for clinical and management decisions, reference and research consultations, training on library tools, current awareness alerts, and document delivery or interlibrary loan.
How VALNET Delivers Services
VALNET librarians are based in VA medical centers and clinics, where they work directly with care teams and staff, and they also provide digital services across the enterprise. An embedded librarian may support bedside care, local committees, and training on site, while also fulfilling searches and other information requests from users anywhere in VA through online tools.
Enterprise Resources and Value
Through VALNET, VA provides a core collection of centrally funded online resources—databases, journals, books, point-of-care tools, and continuing education products—alongside local collections and services. VALNET libraries contribute usage and service data that help show how library services save clinicians’ time, support Veteran care, and guide ongoing improvements in collections and services.
How to Get Help
To get started, you can find your local VA library, explore nationally supported databases and online resources, or contact a VALNET librarian to request help with a specific question or project.
