This study describes a questionnaire survey of consumer health reference services policies of the academic medical school libraries and veterinary school libraries in the United States and Canada. Library administrators and public services librarians were asked about library category and funding source, type of medical school served, policy type, reference services, and searcher response to specific medical reference questions. Survey results showed that library funding source accounted for the most difference in provision of mediated reference services to the general public; whether a library supported a medical school or veterinary medical school was not significant. Eighty percent of the libraries provided database searches for the public, but 69% performed under six such searches per week; mediated database searching fees caused many patrons to prefer to search on their own. Fifty-five percent of the libraries had a written reference services policy, 31%--most serving medical schools--used a written disclaimer
