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NUR 202: Research and Ethics in the Health Sciences: Books

Books About Nurses and Nursing

Chances are you'll primarily use journal articles for your research. However, books can be useful as well, for instance when doing research on the history of the profession, or if you're looking for information in a textbook.

Finding Books

To find books in our library, search the Library Catalog - you can also search directly via  the search box on the library's homepage.

When you find books that look useful, write down the Collection & the Call Number

General Collection, call numbers A - PQ  are on the Third Floor 

General Collection, call numbers PR - Z are on the Second (Main) Floor

Oversize are on the Third Floor, Beck Hall side

Reference are on the Second (Main) Floor, Beck Hall side

Browsing are on the Second (Main) Floor near the entrance

Young Adult & Children's Books are on the First Floor 

AV materials (DVDs, etc) are on the First Floor

Once you are in the right area, signs on the sides of the shelves will direct you further. The system is a little tricky to figure out at first, so don't hesitate to ask for directions at the Information Desk (main floor of the library).

Browse the shelves when you find a useful book. Books are shelved according to topic, so chances are you'll find other relevant books nearby.

You can check books out at the Information Desk. Our Information Desk page has information about loan periods, renewals, etc.  See also our instructions for Locating Items on the Shelves.

Finding More Books

You can (and should) also search for books in other libraries. To do this, use the advanced search in the library catalog. Scroll down to select "Libraries WorldWide." 

  • Once you find a book that you want to order, click the title. On the next screen, click "Request from Another Library" under the Access Options box.
  • Follow the prompts to log in with your Gustavus user name and password.
  • You will get an email once the book arrives; pick it up at the Information Desk of the library.
  • This process is free to you and is a great way to expand your resources.
  • The Tracking Down Materials tab at the top of this guide has more information on requesting materials from other libraries.

Browsing for Books

Books are shelved in general subject categories using the Library of Congress classification system. You may want to supplement your use of the catalog with browsing shelf areas for your topic. Below is a brief listing of some of the subject locations in the field of nursing.

BF -- Psychology
HQ -- Family; marriage; women; sexuality; children
Q -- Science - General
QD -- Chemistry
QM -- Human Anatomy
QP -- Physiology
QR -- Microbiology
R -- Medicine - General
RA -- Public aspects of medicine
RB -- Pathology
RC -- Internal medicine
RD -- Surgery
RJ -- Pediatrics
RM -- Therapeutics; pharmacology

RT -- Nursing

  • 31 -- History and biography
  • 40 -- General works
  • 48 -- Diagnosis
  • 82 -- Nursing profession
  • 85 -- Nursing ethics
  • 86 -- Psychology of nursing
  • 87 -- Special topics in nursing

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0