Terrorism: a guide to resources

Abstract

Purpose

Prior to 9/11, terrorism was subject to political, scholarly, and media debates. A large body of literature on the topic reflected researchers' long‐standing interest in the topic. In the near decade since 9/11, terrorism and its threat have only gained urgency. This paper aims to provide a selected bibliography of resources, in print and electronic format, that focus on terrorism. Public and academic libraries have been providing access to terrorism‐related resources, but no thematic bibliography has been published in professional journals since 2001. This guide aims to aid librarians in making decisions about developing and maintaining collections on the topic.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors consulted a variety of sources, including the Library of Congress catalog, WorldCat, Bowker's Global Books in Print database, book reviews in Choice, Booklist, and in journals within terrorism studies. As John Jay College of Criminal Justice is home to The Center on Terrorism and the college offers an MA Certificate Program in Terrorism Studies, the authors also consulted the college library collection that supports these scholarly activities on terrorism at the college.

Practical implications

Because of the volume of terrorism‐related scholarship and the number of available resources on the topic, this bibliography does not purport to be complete.

Findings

Included in this guide are print and electronic encyclopedias, books, periodicals, databases, and websites covering terrorism.

Originality/value

This guide aims to assist students, faculty, and the general public in navigating the vast array of terrorism‐related resources. Focusing on research conducted and published since 2001, it is also intended as a guide for public and academic librarians who develop, maintain, or evaluate a collection on the topic.

Citation

Okamoto, K. and Bladek, M. (2011), "Terrorism: a guide to resources", Collection Building, Vol. 30 No. 1, pp. 39-46. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604951111105005