“Veterinary medicine is the branch of science that deals with the application of medical, surgical, public health, dental, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to non-human animals, including wildlife and domesticated animals, including livestock, working animals, and companion animals.”

The Library seeks to support the research, instruction, and clinical service missions of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.  The major specialty areas include: behavior, anesthesiology, cardiology, clinical pathology, dermatology, dentistry, emergency medicine and critical care, endocrinology, farriery (therapeutic horseshoeing), genetic and inherited disorders, imaging (radiology) and radiation therapy, infectious (bacterial and viral) diseases and immunology, internal medicine, neurology, nutritional diseases, oncology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, parasitic diseases, pathology, pharmacy, production medicine, public health and epidemiology, theriogenology (obstetrics and reproduction), and surgery.

All species are included:

• Companion animals, e.g., dogs, cats, pocket pets, ferrets
• Livestock and food-producing animals, e.g., cattle, horses, sheep, goats, poultry, swine
• Wildlife, exotic, and captive zoo animals
• Caged and wild birds, raptors, waterfowl
• Reptiles, amphibians
• Fish and aquatic mammals
• Laboratory animals, e.g., rats, mice, guinea pigs, primates

Under the “one health” concept, veterinary medicine interfaces with human medicine, especially as related to pathology and public health through the monitoring and control of zoonotic diseases (e.g., infectious diseases transmitted from non-human animals to humans).

Materials are collected primarily in English. However, journals published by international veterinary associations and educational institutions as well as some selected texts in Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Italian, and Spanish are selectively acquired.

General collection dates from mid-1800s when veterinary medicine developed as a scientific discipline and service profession. Special and historical coverage dates from 1600 forward.

Scholarly communication in the field of Veterinary Medicine is conducted through academic and specialized journals. Scholarly, trade and popular monographs and serials, and textbooks are also collected. Audio-visual materials including slides, videotapes, and sound recordings are also acquired in various formats including ½-inch VHS, 2x2 35mm slides, CD-ROM and DVD particularly for instructional purposes, clinical procedure demonstrations, and organism identification.

Historical and rare books concerning the various fields of Veterinary Medicine prior to 1870 are housed in Kroch Library Rare and Manuscript Collections.

eCommons serves as a repository for publications issued by the College and its centers, course-related senior seminar documents (primarily since the 2002/2003 academic year), oral histories of alumni and designated veterinarians, and other materials related to the College and Veterinary Medicine in general.