The Library Collections

Books
The library houses around 60,000 books, and the stock grows by about 1,200 books every year. We cover a wide range of disciplines, including forensic psychology and psychiatry; sociology; social policy and welfare; criminology; penology; policing; human rights, and research methodology. Most of our stock is published in English but we're happy to consider purchasing material in other languages on request. We also try to acquire as much relevant ‘grey’ material as we can locate and we welcome recommendations about such material.
You can download a list of classmarks and their associated subject headings in PDF format, arranged alphabetically by classmark (231kb) or subject (234kb).

UK Government Publications
The library has a strong collection of UK government publications, including criminal and prison statistics; Home Office research; prison, CPS and constabulary inspections; Annual Abstracts of Statistics, and criminal justice Acts and Bills.
Material published by other governments — and by the UN and the Council of Europe — are shelved as part of the main book collection.
Full collections of UK government material can also be found in the Official Publications Department of the UL.

Periodicals
Our stock of periodicals covers over 500 titles; over 200 of these are active subscriptions. The periodicals are shelved alphabetically by title on the first floor. They aren’t available to borrow but you’re welcome to photocopy, subject to the requirements of the Copyright Act.
Much of our older and non-English language stock is in storage; if you’re interested in this material, ask a member of staff for the volumes that you’d like to see.
During August, we send some periodicals away for binding. For around 100 titles, the latest full volume (normally all issues from the last complete calendar year) will be unavailable during that time. Some of these materials are available through other sources, such as online subscriptions, other libraries, or interlibrary loans. You can download a list of our periodical holdings in PDF format here (272k).

Pamphlets and Annual Reports
The pamphlet collection includes off-prints, individually published tracts, brief distillations of research findings, and other small publications. We hold around 20,000 pamphlets and add about 100 each year.
We also have a collection of annual reports from criminal justice and human rights organisations. These are stored outside the library and are available by request. UK government agency annual reports and inspection reports are shelved on the first floor of the library.