Collection Policy: Nursing
1. Introduction
The Library supports the instructional and research needs of faculty and students
working within the Department of Nursing. Founded in 1965, the School of Nursing
offered courses towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing. The School of Nursing
is currently part of the Faculty of Health and Behavioral Sciences
The School of Nursing currently offers the following academic programs:

Native Nurses Entry Program (NNEP)

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN, either four year collaborative or three year
compressed)

The Ontario Primary Health Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate Program

Masters of Public Health (Nursing Specialization)
The Chancellor Paterson Library is the main location for the print collection. Print
monograph and print journal collections are enhanced by a substantial and growing
collection of electronic resources. The Chancellor Paterson library has been a
depository for federal government documents since 1967 and for Ontario government
publications since 1972. Significant materials of relevance to the collection would be
published by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Health Canada and
Statistics Canada. Government resources which have traditionally been made available
in print are now largely disseminated in electronic format and made accessible through
links in the library catalogue.
In addition to materials acquired for nursing and related health programs, users also
have access to the print and electronic collections at the Health Sciences Library of the
Northern Ontario School of medicine.
2. History of the Collection
When it was established in 1965 the School of Nursing offered a Bachelor of Science
Degree in Nursing. The school has grown to include specialized courses with a focus for
aboriginal, northern and rural health in order to reflect provincial health care education
needs. In 1988 a Native Nurses Entry Program was created to provide preparatory
instruction to those entering the 4 year Bachelor of Science (Nursing) program and a
Northern Clinical Practice Certificate program was added in 1998 to prepare nurses for
clinical practice in remote First Nations communities (no longer offered). Lakehead is
also a member of the nine-university consortium that delivers the Primary Health Care
Nurse Practitioner curriculum since 1997. While other academic disciplines retain
select historic texts for research, the nursing collection is very current with very few
retrospective materials.
Curriculum for the Nursing programs include patient care across the lifespan
(individual, family, population, community), clinical practice, community health,
gerontology, psychology, sociology, and case management, with additional course
requirements in anatomical sciences, physiology, immunology and biochemistry.
Graduate level programs include health assessment and diagnosis, research methods
and therapeutics, as well as public aspects of health care, population health and health
care systems.
3. Languages
Acquisitions are primarily in the English language.
4. Chronological Guidelines
Emphasis is on the acquisition of current material.
5. Geographical Guidelines
There are no geographical restrictions.
6. Types of Material
The Library actively collects monographs, journals, government documents and
reference materials. Conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, annual reports
and other serial publications are acquired selectively.
The predominant format for monographs is print although the Library is progressively
building the e-book collection. The predominant format for journals and government
documents is electronic. Resources in other formats such as microfilm, CD-Rom and
DVD are purchased when relevant.
7. Subject Areas/Levels
The subject organization below follows the Library of Congress Classification Outline.
Nursing materials fall into the Library of Congress class RT with medical material in
classes R-RZ. Collection areas in the table below are ranked by a collection level; basic,
initial study, advanced study or research.
Subject
Classification
Range
Current
Level
Target
Level
Nursing
RT 1-120
Advanced
Advanced
Community health nursing
RT97-98
Initial
Research
Medicine (general)
R 5-920
Initial
Initial
Medicine - Public aspects (medicine
and state: planning, reform, health
status, medical sociology,
economics)
RA 1-420
Initial
Advanced
Public health promotion, policy,
community health services,
hygiene, epidemiology, etc
RA 421-790.95
Advanced
Research
Hospitals
RA 960-1000
Basic
Initial
Medicine – public health promotion
RA 449-450.999
– Canada
Initial
Advanced
Pathology
RB 1-214
Basic
Initial
Internal Medicine
RC 31-1245
Advanced
Advanced
Geriatrics
RC952-954.6
Initial
Advanced
Subject
Classification
Range
Current
Level
Target
Level
Geriatric nursing
RC954
Basic
Initial
Cancer nursing
RC266
Basic
Initial
Surgery
RD1-811
Initial
Initial
Gynecology and obstetrics
RG1-991
Initial
Initial
Pediatrics
RJ 1-570
Advanced
Advanced
Pediatric nursing
RJ245-247
Basic
Initial
Therapeutics - Pharmacology
RM 1-950
Initial
Advanced
Pharmacy
RS 1-441
Basic
Initial
Human Anatomy
QM 1-695
Basic
Initial
Advanced
Advanced
Physiology
Development, aging, nutrition,
QP 1-981
body systems, biochemistry 501-981
8. Interdisciplinary Activities
The School of Nursing supports interdisciplinary programs, allowing students to minor
in either women’s studies or gerontology. Masters of Public Health programs are
offered with a joint specialization in Nursing or Gerontology.
9. Strengths/Weaknesses
Lakehead’s print monograph collection for Nursing (Class RT) is very current. Coverage
is strongest in the general, philosophical, administrative and psychological aspects of
nursing. Coverage is also good for the subjects of critical care nursing, the study and
teaching of nursing and nursing research. The School continues to purchase material in
these subject areas as well as in the area of public health (Class RA). Additional
materials could be acquired to support graduate level work on the subjects of clinical
assessment and public health nursing, research methods and the work of nurse
practitioners. Additional undergraduate level material could be obtained in nursing
communication and cross-cultural nursing as well as special aspects of nursing like
geriatric, cancer and pediatric nursing.
The School is extremely selective about purchasing materials in the broader subject
classes (R-RZ). In recent years, however, coverage and currency has dramatically
increased with the addition of e-book packages purchased with funds from other library
budgets. Substantial numbers of texts have been added in the following subject areas;
general medicine (R5-920), public aspects of medicine (RA1-420), pathology (RB 1214), internal medicine (RC 31-1245), surgery (RD1-811), gynecology and obstetrics
(RG1-991), pediatrics (RJ 1-570), and therapeutics (RM 1-950). Areas for improvement
would include human anatomy (QM), therapeutics (RM), and pharmacy (RS).
Lakehead has an extensive collection of electronic journals in both nursing and
medicine as well as a select collection of print title subscriptions. The library provides
access to electronic journals through participation in the Canadian Research
Knowledge Network (CRKN) and through consortial subscriptions through the Ontario
Council of University Libraries (OCUL). Journal packages with significant medical or
nursing journal coverage include Informa Healthcare, SpringerLink, Proquest Nursing,
Sage, and Blackwell Synergy. In addition, resources like Academic OneFile and Gale
Health and Wellness are made available through Knowledge Ontario.
10.
Thunder Bay and Regional Resources
The Paterson Library Commons at Confederation College contains a large selection of
monographs of relevance to nursing, and gerontology. The Thunder Bay Public Library
has a limited collection of introductory, reference and popular health materials that may
be suitable for first year students or for general interest reading.
11.
Internet Resources
The Library maintains links to nursing resources on the Internet via the electronic
subject guide. Additional subject guides with useful content links are available for
related studies like; gerontology, public health, women’s studies, sociology, social work,
psychology, and kinesiology.
12.
Liaison:
The School of Nursing is responsible for selecting appropriate library resources. A
library representative from the School liaises with a designated Collections Development
Librarian with respect to the library budget, the acquisitions process and cancellation
projects. It is the responsibility of the Collection Development Librarian to ensure that
relevant information regarding new publications is forwarded to the School’s library
representative for consideration.
13.
Weeding.
Weeding will be done on an ongoing basis to preserve the quality, currency and strength
of the collection.
____________________
___________________
School of Nursing Library Representative
Collection Development Librarian
May 10, 2012__________
___________________
Date
Date