FBI Library

Facilities

The library is housed in a four-story building at the FBI Academy in Quantico. Situated in the center of the dormitory complex, the library remains the hub of the Academy.

Four reading rooms on the first floor offer comfortable chairs and tables for study or relaxation. The second floor contains the library collection and lounge chairs for reading. In addition, there are a number of work stations, Internet stations, and the online catalog. Four video players are available to view the library's video collections.

Collections

The FBI Academy library holds 40,000 volumes in the fields of law enforcement and criminal justice. Included in these holdings are a number of historical materials dealing with the FBI. The library, however, does not hold many original or unique historical items. The collection instead can be characterized as an open source collection, with the kinds of materials which are readily available in a university or public library.

The library attempts to collect videos related to law enforcement issues, and at present holds about 700 titles. Included in this collection are a number of feature films having an FBI character or focus.

The library subscribes to over 300 current periodicals. There are also many back issues of law enforcement titles in both paper and microfiche.

For those patrons commuting, the library's collection of 180 audiotapes has proved very popular. These audiotapes are frequently exchanged so that the collection remains fresh and up-to-date.

Hours of Service

As an integral part of student life at the Academy, the library remains a "home away from home," and is open 24 hours a day, with the honor system of checkout.

Staff are on duty to assist patrons from 7:30 AM to 9:00 PM, Monday through Thursday, 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM on Friday, and 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM on Saturdays. We do not staff the library on Sundays or holidays.

Reference/Instruction Services

The library staff produces bibliographies on many important criminal justice and law enforcement topics. These list the most important books, periodicals, newspapers, audiovisual resources and government documents on topics which will lead the student or researcher to basic materials for a paper.

The library staff also provides basic orientation for all new students and specialized orientations for those pursuing advanced research. On demand, the staff can prepare a special course to cover various needs, such as a course on how to search psychological databases. Staff members also work closely with faculty to develop instructional modules in conjunction with course work.

Reference requests are received on a daily basis from FBI field offices, as well as local and state law enforcement agencies. These requests are handled by the staff who answer the requests as quickly as possible. Material is either mailed or faxed, depending on the urgency of the request.

Government Documents

As a government documents depository, the library receives free of charge many publications related to law enforcement and criminal justice. These publications include many FBI-produced documents as well as important statistical studies, such as Crime in the United States.

Documents are all housed together in the government documents room on the first floor, arranged by Superintendent of Documents numbers. A number of specialized reference manuals lead the reader to this most useful collection.

Circulation Policies

Materials are available for use by FBI personnel and students at the Academy.

Materials circulate to students for two weeks (renewable), and one month to FBI personnel, both at the Academy and in the Field.

Videos are loaned to the field for one month and at the Academy for two days.

Photocopy

The library provides photocopy machines free of charge to the patron.

Indexing and Electronic Resources

The library has access to a number of databases, in printed, electronic or CD/ROM format.

For criminal justice literature, Criminal Justice Periodical Index and Criminal Justice Abstracts are important sources. For general literature, the library subscribes to Newsbank CD/ROM, which covers newspaper and periodical articles, and Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature and Information Access on CD/ROM.

Frequently used electronic resources include LEXIS/NEXIS and DIALOG.

Interlibrary Loan

The library has an efficient system for borrowing materials from other libraries. In addition, we have a document delivery system for obtaining rush materials in a timely manner. Patrons should ask at the Reference desk about such materials.