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* Nursing

Find Nursing resources here!

Using Library of Congress (LC) Call Numbers

Call Number: Each item in a library has its own address, so it can be found easily. Library of Congress call numbers, made up of letters and numbers, are used by most colleges, including ours. When two different college libraries have the same item, it will have the same address in both libraries.
Each line of a call number has a specific meaning.

For example, if you see this record in the catalog:

  Evidence-based Practice in Nursing & Healthcare : A Guide to Best Practice

    by Melnky, B; Fineout-Overhold, E. 

   Call Number: RT42 .M44 2015 PubDate:2015

                 Located: Circulating Collection
                 Not Checked Out

You would read the call number like this:

RT = Nursing
M44=Author number
(notice the author's last name starts with M)
2015

Call numbers are based on Subject Headings.

Subject headings: The brief description of a subject of an item. College libraries use the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Subject headings bring materials on the same topic or topics together.

All subject headings relate to specific call numbers. For example, all items discussing nursing begin with RT.

In the GGC Library, items also have locations and statuses.

Locations in the GGC Library include Circulating (which means the book can be checked out), Reference (which means the books cannot be checked out), Oversize (books on the third floor), and Electronic (books available on or off-campus as e-books).

Statuses let you know if the book is available.

Sometimes it can be very useful to browse in a specific range of call numbers to see books on similar topics.  Here is a link to the Library of Congress Classification Outline.

R       Medicine (General)

         729.5N87    Nurse-physician joint practice

RA    Public Aspects of Medicine

         421            Public health. Hygiene. Preventive medicine

RB    Pathology

RC    Internal Medicine

          71            Examination. Diagnosis
          266          Cancer nursing
          311.8       Tuberculosis nursing
          350.5       Neurological nursing
          440          Psychiatric nursing
          674          Cardiovascular disease nursing 
          735.5       Respiratory disease nursing
          954          Geriatric nursing
          966          Industrial nursing
          1097        Aviation nursing

RD    Surgery

          91           Asepsis and antisepsis
          99           Surgical nursing
          596         Neurosurgical nursing

RE    Ophthalmology

          88            Ophthalmic nursing

RF    Otorhinolaryngology

RG    Gynecology and Obstetrics

          105          Gynecological nursing
          133          Conception. Artificial insemination. Contraception 
          940          Maternal care. Prenatal care service
          951          Maternity nursing. Obstetrical nursing

RJ    Pediatrics

          50            Examination. Diagnosis
          101          Child health. Child health services.
          245          Pediatric nursing
          247          School nursing

RK   Dentistry

          60.5          Dental nursing

RL    Dermatology

          125           Dermatologic nursing

RM  Therapeutics. Pharmacology

          125           Therapeutics and materia medica for nurses
          214           Diet therapy
          700           Physical therapy for nurses

RS    Pharmacy and Materia Medica

RT    Nursing

          48             Nursing assessment
          48.5          Diagnostic techniques. Laboratory tests, etc.
          48.6          Nursing diagnosis
          49             Nursing care plans
          49             Nursing records.Charting
          49.5          Computer applications
          55             Problems, exercises, examinations
          65             Medicine and surgery for nurses
          74.7          Preceptorships in nursing education
          75             Graduate nursing education
          76             Continuing nursing education 
          81.5          Research. Experimentation
          82             Nursing as a profession 
          82.8          Nurse practitioners
          84.5          Philosophy of nursing.  Nursing models
          85             Nursing ethics
          85.2          Religious aspects
          85.5          Standards for care
          86.3          Nurse and patient
          86.54        Transcultural nursing
          86.7          Practice of nursing. Economics
          87.N87     Nutritional care. Feeding patients
          87.P35      Pain
          89             Nursing administration
          90             Teaching. Patient teaching. Nursing education
          90.3          Health Promotion. Health education
          97             Public health nursing
          98             Community health nursing
          120.C45   Chronic diseases
          120.E4     Emergency nursing
          120.F34   Family nursing
          120.H65   Home nursing
          120.I5       Intensive care
          120.L64    Long-term care facilities
          120.O9     Outpatient facilities
          120.R4      Rehabilitation

RV    Botanic, Thomsonian, and Eclectic Medicine

RX    Homeopathy

RZ    Other Systems of Medicine