Physical Education: Books

The basic Library Catalog search is a keyword search--you simply type your search terms into the box, and the catalog retrieves all the items that have your search terms in their catalog records.

Searching by subject is another way to find materials that focus on your topic. Each item in the Library Catalog has one or more subject terms (headings) assigned to it, When you search by subject, you retrieve only the items that have the subject for which you searched. To make a subject heading more specific, subheadings are added after it. A subheading is separated from the main heading by a double dash (--). Once you have your subject terms, to search by subject in the Library Catalog, in the dropdown list under "Search for," select "Subject."  Here are some example subject headings for physical education topics:

Coaching (Athletics)

College Sports

Physical Education and Training

Physical Education for Children

Physical Education for Handicapped Children

Sports

Sports for Women

Sports Injuries

Sports Medicine

Sports Science

Search by Sport

You can also search by the name of a sport or activity. These are just a few examples; you can search for the name of any sport you are reseraching. Every book that is about a specific sport should have the name of the sport as a subject heading.

Baseball

Basketball

Football

Soccer

Softball

To find subject headings for a subject you are studying, first use keyword searching to find some books on your general topic. Then look at their records and see what subject terms they have. You can use the subject links in the catalog records to retrieve all the items with the same subject. However, this linking scheme has some quirks, so if it seems like it is returning far too many (or too few) items, try using the Library Catalog (aka Advanced Search) screen and a Subject or Subject Phrase search with your terms.

If you want to browse the library stacks, you can use these call numbers to find books on physical education.

G Geography, Anthropology, Recreation

GV 201-555 Physical education and training

GV346-351.5 School and college athletics. Intramural
and interscholastic athletics

GV401-433 Physical education facilities. Sports facilities
Including gymnasiums, athletic fields,
playgrounds, etc.

GV435-436.7 Physical measurements. Physical tests, etc. 

GV460-555 Gymnastics. Gymnastic exercises
Including calisthenics, heavy exercises,
acrobatics, etc.

GV 557-1198.995 Sports

R Medicine

RC1200-1245 Sports medicine 

The books with call numbers beginning with G are on the second floor of the library stacks, while the R section is on the fourth floor. Remember that given the interdisciplinary nature of liberal arts studies, you may find useful books with other call numbers too. 

To find books from thousands of other libraries and request them through interlibrary loan, use WorldCat FirstSearch. You can search for books, journals, audiovisual materials, dissertations, and many other material types. When you find a resource you think would be useful in your research, you can fill out an interlibrary loan form, and Nash Library will request the book from another library.