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Information Center Resources

Notice:

The National Institute of Corrections is currently assessing its website and materials in accordance with recent Executive Orders and related guidance. During this review, some of NIC’s webpages and publications may be temporarily unavailable. Please revisit this web page for updates.

The Information Center helps you with corrections research

The NIC Information Center is proud to serve as the leader in corrections-related resources for staff at all levels of federal, state, local, and tribal corrections agencies. In our collection, you will find guides and best practices, surveys, and streaming videos of nearly any topic you will face in your agency. If you feel that our collection is missing a topic area or if you have questions about a publication or research you are doing, please reach out to our help desk through the form below.

Popular Publications

Borrow free eBooks

Starting in 2019, NIC recognized the need to lean into the freedom that eBooks have created for readers. An eBook doesn't need to be printed and it can be taken with you on devices you already have. To meet the needs of our users, we partnered with Overdrive.com and the Libby App to make our expanded collection available to you. We've even stocked it with many popular books that aren't our website. It's all free, so try it out.

Explore the full eBook Collection

 

Explore Our Resources

Who does the Information Center serve?

The Information Center serves practitioners and policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels of government, as well as researchers and other professionals concerned about correctional issues. Our staff respond to more than 8,000 information requests annually.

Online Services

Information Center provide access to the online collection. Since 2016, thousands of people have contacted the Information Center and have been assisted with answers on hundreds of topics. Some of the subjects of the greatest inquiry included:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Programs (Thinking for a Change)
  • Staff Training and Wellness
  • Offender Reentry
  • and many, many more

For more information on trending corrections topics, please visit our Topics in Corrections page. The Information Center also provides research support to corrections practitioners through the Help Desk.

The Information Center and Its Collection

The Information Center maintains several specialized collections including the NIC agency publications as well as corrections-related materials, evidence-based research and resources from a variety of peer-reviewed authoritative sources. It's primary collection is the NIC publications database and archives. The collections also include unpublished, operationally-oriented resources developed by correctional agencies for use by practitioners in the field. These are items such as policies, procedural manuals, reports, newsletters, and training materials. The Information Center also collects published materials on correctional topics and serves as a distribution center and archive for NIC publications. Cataloged resources are supplemented by serial literature, database access, and agency documentation such as annual reports.

Submitting Items to the Collection

New item suggestions and recommendations are always welcome. If you know of an item that would be a good addition to one of the collections, please let the staff know by contacting us. We encourage materials that are professionally produced and available electronically (preferably in their original, editable format as well as in PDF, in the case of print documents).

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