1. NATIONAL LIBRARY
OF MEDICINE
CLASSIFICATION
Rebecca Raszewski, MS, AHIP
February 20, 2012

2. Goals for Today
 History of NLM Classification
 NLM Classification Today
 Classification “Process”
 Numbers to Know
 Things to Think About
 Resources

3. HISTORY OF NLM
CLASSIFICATION

4. History of NLM Classification
 Classification Systems Before NLM
Classification
 NLM Classification Development Timeline
 AML=NLM

5. What Classification Were Libraries
Using?
 Dewey
 LC
 Boston Medical Library
 Cunningham
 What AML Used

6. 1943 Survey of Army Medical
Library
 Survey done out of fear
 Rockefeller Foundation provided $20,000
 Under sponsorship of ALA
 6 Librarians visited AML several times during
the summer and autumn of 1943
 Called in experts in certain fields i.e. Rare books

7. 1944-The National Medical
Library: Report of a Survey of the
Army Medical Library
 “Library be classified according to a
modern scheme.”
 “The best classification scheme…combined
the notation of the Library of Congress
system, with the basic plan of the
Cunningham classification.”

8. 1944-Classification Committee
Formed
 Mary Louise Marshall-classification tables
 Janet Doe-index
 Physician Input

9. Items Examined by the Committee
 Topical Outlines
 Textbooks
 Cunningham Classification System

10. Classification Committee’s Results
 Follow LCC classification structure
 Develop classification scheme for medicine
and related subjects
 Fit into the vacant class W
 Develop scheme for the preclinical sciences
from vacant subclasses QS-QZ

11. 1946-New Classification Tested
 Army Medical Library
 Tulane University
 Orleans Parish Medical Society
 1943-present

12. 1948-Preliminary Edition Issued
 Called Army Medical Library Classification
 Detailed Classification Deliberate
 Copies Distributed to Other Libraries

13. 1949-Revised Version of
Classification Used at AML

14. 1951-First edition U.S. Army
Medical Library Classification

15. 1948 1951
 QW Bacteriology  QW Bacteriology &
 QY Immunology Immunology
 WC Body as a Whole  QY Clinical Pathology
 WD Regions of the  WC Infectious Diseases
Body  WD Systemic Diseases
 WP Obstetrics and  WP Gynecology
Gynecology  WQ Obstetrics
 WH, WQ, WR, and WZ  WH Hemic & Lymphatic
were not used Systems
 WR Dermatology
 WZ History of Medicine

16. 1952-Monographs Reclassification
Completed at Army Medical
Library

17. NLM Classification Editions
Published
 1958: Second Edition
 1964: Third Edition
 1978: Fourth Edition
 1994: Fifth Edition

18. Other Classification Milestones
 1999: No longer published in print
 2002: Published in electronic form
 Annually online only

19. NLM CLASSIFICATION TODAY

20. NLM Classification Today
 Structure
 Relationship to MeSH
 Index
 Classification of Special Types of Materials

21. Structure of NLM Classification
 QS-QZ-Preclinical Sciences
 W-WZ-Medicine

22. Preclinical Sciences
 QS Human Anatomy  QW Microbiology &
 QT Physiology Immunology
 QU Biochemistry  QX Parasitology
 QV Pharmacology  QY Clinical
Pathology
 QZ Pathology

23. General Health and Medicine
 W Medical Profession
 WA Public Health
 WB Practice of Medicine

24. Diseases of the Whole Body;
Aviation, Space, Naval Medicine
 WC Infectious Diseases
 WD Disorders of Systemic, Metabolic or
Environmental Origin, etc.

25. Body Systems
 WE Musculoskeletal  WI Gastrointestinal
System System
 WF Respiratory  WJ Urogenital
System System
 WG Cardiovascular  WK Endocrine
System System
 WH Hemic &  WL Nervous System
Lymphatic Systems

26. Specialty Areas
 WM Psychiatry  WU Dentistry
 WN Radiology  WV Otorhinolaryngology
 WO Surgery  WW Ophthalmology
 WP Gynecology  WX Hospitals
 WQ Obstetrics  WY Nursing
 WR Dermatology
 WS Pediatrics
 WT Geriatrics

27. History
 WZ History of Medicine
 19th Century Schedule

28. Structure of NLM Classification Ctd.
 Various schedules of LC Classification
supplement NLM classification
 QM, QR, and R are not used

29. LC Classification Example

30. Special Instructions
 QD Chemistry  SF Animal Culture
 QH Natural  T Technology
Sciences  U Military Science
 QK Botany
 QL Zoology
 QP Physiology

31. Classification’s Relationship to
MeSH
 Compatible with MeSH

32. Index
 Consists primarily of MeSH
 Some non-MeSH terms are used as cross
references when no appropriate MeSH term is
available
 Updated annually to reflect changes to MeSH
 Not all of MeSH is included
 Index is not a substitute for MeSH

33. Index Example

34. Classification of Special Types of
Materials
 Bibliographies
 Early Publications
 Serial Publications

35. Bibliographies
 Within the scope of the NLM Classification
system=Z+ number for the subject
 Outside the scope of the NLM Classification
are classed LC’s Z schedule for bibliography

36. 19th Century Schedule
 Used for works published 1801-1913

37. Materials Before 1801
 Groupings for works published before 1801
and Americana
 WZ 220-225 Early Manuscripts
 WZ 230-270 are used to provide century
 WZ 230 Incunabula pre-1501
 WZ 240 XVI century
 WZ 270 Americana
 WZ 290-294 Reproductions

38. Serial Publications
 Usually classed in W1
 Government Administrative and Statistical
Reports in W2
 Hospital Administrative or Statistical Reports
in WX 2

39. CLASSIFICATION PROCESS

40. Classification Process
 Subject Analysis
 Table G

41. Classification Process
 Subject Analysis
 Number assigned determined by the main
focus or subject context of the work
 Subject Analysis=Classification

42. Classification Process Ctd.
 Multi-subject book
 Classified by emphasis
 If no emphasis, item classified under first
subject

43. Classification Process Ctd.
 Go to Index for the Call Number

44. Classification Process Ctd.
 Hierarchical
 Within each schedule, division by organ
usually has priority

45. Classification Process Ctd.
 Classification by publication type takes
precedence over classification by subject

46. Cuttering
 Uses Cutter-Sanborn Three-Figure Author
Table
 No use of periods
 Used in the majority of medical libraries
 Cutter several editions the same even if the title
has changed

47. Special Cutters

48. Translations, Supplements, etc.
 The letter “a” follows the year of publication
 WL 15 L944a 2000a
 “a” is used for reprints
 “f” for facsimiles
 Works that are supplements to other titles
 WB 115 H322p 2005 Review
 Proceedings of congresses LC uses the date
of the congress
 NLM uses the date of imprint

49. Biography and Autobiography
 If it is primarily an account of a person (or two
persons or a family) in a given medical or
scientific field, generally classify in WZ 100
 If it is not an account of a person in a medical or
scientific field, class in the appropriate LCC
number
 Personal narratives about an individual’s
experience with a disease are classified with that
disease.

50. Table G
 Geographic subdivision is provided for certain
subjects by the application of Table G
 Table G should be reflected in your subject
analysis
 W 84 AA1 A23 2003
 Delivery of Health Care|xorganization &
administration|zUnited States

51. Table G Ctd.
 A United States  J Asia
 D America  K Australia
 F Great Britain  L Pacific Islands
 G Europe  M International
 H Africa  P Polar Regions

52. Table G Ctd.
 Within each  AI3 Illinois
region, subdivisions  AI6 Indiana
are provided for  AM5 Michigan
subordinate units
 AW6 Wisconsin
 AA1 United States
 AA4 Alabama
 AA5 Alaska
 AA6 Appalachian

53. Table G Example
 WG 11 (Table G) the number for the history
of cardiology in particular geographic areas
 WG 11.1 general coverage (Not Table G)

54. NUMBERS TO KNOW

55. Numbers to Know-Form Numbers
 1-39
 18 & 33 are not true form numbers

56. Numbers to Know-4
 General Works in QS-QZ
 100 in W-WZ

57. Numbers to Know-5 &7
 5-Collected Works (By a Group of Authors)
 7-Collected Works-by individual authors
 Psychiatry-collected works WM 5 or WM 7
 Psychotherapy-collected works WM 420

58. Numbers to Know-11-11.1
 Used for history of any aspect of a subject
within a classification schedule
 Not assigned to W & WB because of WZ

59. Numbers to Know Ctd.
 13 Dictionaries
 15 Terminology
 16 Tables, Statistics
 17 Atlases, Pictorial Works
 WI 17 K881a 2011 Atlas of Liver Pathology

60. Numbers to Know Ctd.
 18 Education  39/49 Handbooks
 18.2 Review Books  QS 529 in Histology
 20.5 Research  QT 29 in
Physiology
 22-22.1 Directories
 QV 735 in
 25 Lab Manuals
Pharmacy &
 26.5 Informatics Pharmaceutics
 WM 34 Psychiatry

61. Numbers to Know Ctd.
 Histology-5+Form Number
 QS 504 M681h 2009
 Embryology-6+Form Number
 QS 618.2 D845b 2011
 Pharmacy & Pharmaceutics-7+Form Number
 QV 711.1 P467s 2009

62. Numbers to Know Ctd.
 Immunology-5+Form Number
 QW 525 B921i 2010
 Forensic Science-6+Form Number
 W 617 C7186 2010
 Anesthesia-2+Form Number
 WO 211 C981t 1972

63. WD-The Most Random Call Number

64. Things to Think About
 Inconsistency
 Popular Works
 Dissertations
 Nursing Bias
 Pediatrics & Geriatrics
 AV Materials

65. Classification Resources
 Fundamentals of the NLM Classification
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/cataloging/trainingcour
ses/classification/index.html
 Classification Practices
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/class/nlmclassprac.html
 Using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in
Cataloging
 http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/cataloging/trainingcour
ses/mesh/index.html

66. Questions?
raszewr1@uic.edu