Reports of Interest
Consult CQ Researcher Plus Archive, a component of the CQ Press Electronic Library database, to find reports about incarceration and American prisons. Each report is footnoted and includes an overview, background section, chronology, bibliography and debate-style pro-con feature, plus tools to study the evolution of the topic over time. See, for example, Browse Reports > Pro/Con > Death Penalty.
Crime and Prison Statistics
Perform an Advanced search in the library's discovery service to find statistics about U.S. prisons and prisoners. Searching for the terms <prison* statistics "United States"> in the subject field reveals over a thousand sources—articles, government documents, etc.—that incorporate statistics.
- Uniform Crime ReportsFederal Bureau of Investigation
Even More Reference
The following TCNJ Library databases index and provide full-text access to a range of reference materials of interest to researchers interested in prisoners, prisons, and prison literature.
Reference Books: Prison Culture and History
Some e-books listed below are available through Internet Archive, a trustworthy non-profit library. Create your personal Internet Archive account to read those e-books. The 1-hour loan period option should be plenty of time to consult a reference work. If you need more time, feel free to renew it. Other titles on this list are e-books licensed by our library. Both types of e-books are clearly identified. Still others are available only in print from our library's Reference Stacks.
Dictionary:
Prison Slang: Words and Expressions Depicting Life Behind Bars by Call Number: PE3727.P74 B46 1992ISBN: 0899506461Publication Date: 1992-03-01Now highly dated, this dictionary might be helpful depending on the nature of your research.
Encyclopedias:
American Prisons and Jails: An Encyclopedia of Controversies and Trends by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781610695008Publication Date: 2018-12-07
The Encyclopedia of American Prisons by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 0816045119Publication Date: 2002-12-01also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # HV9471 .S54 2003
Encyclopedia of Prisons and Correctional Facilities by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 076192731XPublication Date: 2004-12-15also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # HV9471 .E693 2005
Prisons and Prison Systems: A Global Encyclopedia by Call Number: Ref. HV8665 .R68 2006ISBN: 0313328560Publication Date: 2005-11-01
Handbooks:
Prisons in the United States: A Reference Handbook by Call Number: Gitenstein Library E-BOOKISBN: 9781440844386Publication Date: 2017
Women in Prison: A Reference Handbook by Call Number: Internet Archive E-BOOKISBN: 1576079295Publication Date: 2003-03-24also available in print, Reference Collection, Call # HV9471 .B365 2003
