NCJ Number
85452
Date Published
1981
Length
43 pages
Annotation
The Netherlands should develop an on-line data base to compile and disseminate information to police forces, using ideas generated from the experience of Canada and the United States.
Abstract
A tour of Canadian and American police libraries and institutions, criminal justice institutions, libraries, and related institutions revealed the use of many data bases. The data base NCJRS is now the sole supplier of material related to criminal justice and the police, but it lacks European coverage. Abstracts can fill this gap, however. In North America, the need for personal subscriptions does not exist, due to the almost total integration of the educational facilities for the police and university and college structures. Heavy use is made of university and public reference libraries and, more recently, of independent suppliers in the information field. The data base for the Netherlands should emphasize completeness rather than selectivity, since subjects which are not relevant today may be so in 5 years. The system should prepare for going on-line, and should include document delivery service. The possibility for mulitlingual searching should be incorporated. Outlines of the topics discussed at each of the 24 stops on the tour are included. Appendixes present charts, address lists, and a discussion of policy aspects and specific provisions relevant to the establishment of a data base in the Netherlands.