Library Services

The JV Barry Library was established in 1974 and is a major criminal justice information resource that supports the information needs of the Institute's research programs and provides services to key stakeholders and other clients.

Members of the public may access the library catalogue and search for AIC publications from here.

The Library is located at 4 National Circuit, Barton, ACT. Visitors are welcome (by appointment only). Please contact front.desk@aic.gov.au to let us know your requirements.

CINCH

The CINCH database, an open access index of Australian criminal justice information, was established in 1977 and contains material dating back from 1968 to the present time. Source documents indexed in the database include journal articles, books and chapters, conference papers and proceedings, research reports, theses, government documents, statistical publications and unpublished materials. Subjects covered include all aspects of criminology, corrections, crime prevention, juvenile justice, Indigenous justice, financial crime, criminal justice law, law enforcement and policing. Records include abstracts, subject terms, bibliographic details and, wherever possible, links to the full text. Updated each month by AIC librarians the database is a comprehensive and unique collection of Australian crime and justice material.

Search CINCH our index of Australian criminal justice information. CINCH is also available via subscription through Informit (RMIT Publishing).

Crime and justice alerts

Our monthly alert service links to new material recently added to the library catalogue. Material is grouped under 10 popular headings for easy access, visit our Alerts page to view latest articles or subscribe to be alerted to new material each month. There is an archive of previous Alerts for your information.

Networks and alliances

The Library is a member of Australian and international library networks which facilitate the exchange of material. These include:

  • The ALIES (Australasian Libraries in the Emergency Sector) network, a cooperative information network which aims to serve the common interests of emergency management agencies throughout Australia and New Zealand by exchanging knowledge, skills and resources, maintaining a distributed Australasian emergency management collection and providing expert information services.
  • World Criminal Justice Library Network (WCJLN), which shares services and criminal justice material on a global scale.

The Library is a major criminal justice information service supporting the information needs of the Australian Institute of Criminology's (AIC) research programs, and also providing services to key stakeholders and other clients. The Library produces CINCH, a database of Australian criminal justice information and houses the JV Barry Collection.

The Library's catalogue is available online. Many recent items are available in full text online and these are indicated by the URL in the main record (labelled electronic resource). Due to copyright and licensing restrictions, the Library is unable to provide full text material where open access is not available (labelled electronic document). You may need to arrange an inter-library loan through your own library to access some material.

JV Barry Collection

The Library has a print and electronic collection of English-language material with a strong Australian representation and an emphasis on recently published literature. Subjects covered by the collection include criminology, the social sciences, policing, corrections, and criminal justice.

Library

Public enquiries

AIC librarians may be able to assist and advise you on accessing AIC research and on sources of information for criminology related enquiries. The AIC is not able to provide legal advice or investigate individual matters, please consult a legal or law enforcement professional for such assistance.

Loans and access

Access to AIC premises is restricted and requests to visit the library should be directed to the Library Manager. Library visitors are advised to search the library catalogue before visiting the library to ensure we hold the material you require. You will need to arrange an inter-library loan through your own library to borrow material from our collection.

Inter-library loan charging schedule

The Library contributes records to Trove (Libraries Australia) and others libraries may arrange inter-library loans through this network. The Australian Interlibrary Resource Sharing (ILRS) Code for inter-library loan services applies. ALIA service levels and charges and reciprocal network arrangements are applicable.