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The Crime Library is a rapidly growing collection of more than over 600 nonfiction
feature stories on major crimes, criminals, trials, forensics
and criminal profiling by prominent writers. The stories focus mostly on
recent crimes, but an expanding collection also delves into
historically notorious characters, dating back to the 1400s
and spanning the globe.
The Crime Library is a source of entertainment and education for millions
of readers throughout the world, and it serves as an important
resource for students researching current and historical subjects
and for producers of television documentaries and book authors.
The site was founded by Marilyn J. Bardsley in January 1998. Court TV, a joint
venture of AOL-Time Warner and Liberty Media Inc., purchased
the Crime Library in September 2000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How can I tell if you have a story on a particular subject?
A: A search function at the top of the Crime Library
homepage enables readers to search for stories by keyword.
Also, for those who just want to browse, the Crime Library
is organized into categories and subcategories of stories,
such as Notorious Murders, Serial Killers, Gangsters, Forensics,
etc.
Q: Does the Crime Library lend books to readers?
A: The Crime Library is a virtual library of stories,
not books or court records or police reports. At this time,
there are no printed editions available of Crime Library stories.
Most stories have a bibliography listing the books and other
sources used to create Crime Library stories so that researchers
can locate additional information on a subject.
Q: How can I find out about a case if the Crime Library
does not have a story on it?
A: There are many sources of information available
about cases. We recommend as a first step that you try these
sources:
1) Search Court TV's site, www.courttv.com. Courttv.com has extensive archives on crime news and trials.
2) Contact the local newspapers for the area in which the case occurred. Most newspapers have online archives that can be searched for a nominal fee. If a case is too old to be included in the online archives, it may be possible to get information about it by writing to the newspaper and requesting photocopies of articles that appeared in the newspaper.
3) Contact public and university libraries, which may have microfilm of major newspapers. Local public libraries are also an excellent source because they may have clipping files on people and events, including criminal cases.
4) Contact local courts and the police department in the precinct where the crime occurred.
Q: What are Crime Library guidelines for writers?
A: At this time, the Crime Library is not accepting
any new stories.
Q: Does the Crime Library allow individuals to use its
stories or photographs from its stories?
A: Stories and photos appearing on the Crime Library
are either owned and copyrighted by Courtroom Television Network
(Court TV) or offered under agreement with the owner of the
story's copyright. Stories or portions of stories may not
be used for any purpose without the written permission of
Courtroom Television Network. Many Crime Library stories are based on third party sources: books, magazine and newspaper articles and interviews. From time to time, inaccuracies in source materials may inadvertently be incorporated into a Crime Library story. To report a problem or a correction please contact:
truTV
600 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10016
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