Library Home Page > Research Topics Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) This guide is an introduction to the research process that, while not being an exhaustive list of information resources available, should be helpful in getting started in your research about the CIA.  Below you will find pointers to suggested research terms about the CIA, materials in the library catalog about the CIA, websites relevant to the subject of the CIA, and links to library databases that contain information about the subject of the CIA.  Please use our email reference service, contact us at (310) 434-4254, or visit us in the library at the reference desk if you need further assistance. Go to:    Suggested Research Terms    Materials in the Library Catalog     Websites    Library Databases Suggested Research Terms One of the really helpful things when searching for information about a topic is a short list of terms related to a topic.  We think the following terms will help with your research about the CIA: CIA national security global security intelligence gathering business intelligence counterintelligence Aldrich Ames Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 spying moles Back to top of page Materials in the library catalog related to the subject of the CIA We have the following materials in the library catalog related to the subject of the CIA: Central Intelligence Agency National Security Council Spies Espionage Secret Service Terrorism Back to top of page Websites on the subject of the CIA The following websites will help you with your research on the subject of the CIA:   Central Intelligence Agency The CIA website gives information about the CIA, its structure and purview. Its mission is to "support the President, the National Security Council, and all who make and execute US national security policy by: providing accurate, evidence-based, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence related to national security; and conducting counterintelligence activities, special activities, and other functions related to foreign intelligence and national security as directed by the President." Factbook on Intelligence: Genesis of the CIA This section of the CIA site provides background information on the CIA's history from World War II to the present. World Factbook 2001 This CIA publication profiles countries of the world, and is available both online and in print form in many libraries. Information is updated annually and includes maps, data on the geography, people, government, economy, military, and "transnational issues" of each country included. Information on the people of a country includes not only basic population statistics but such data as the literacy rates, infant mortality rates, and HIV/AIDS data. University of Louisville Ekstrom Library: Central Intelligence Agency Offers links to CIA background information, actual CIA reports such as their analysis of the Soviet Union from 1947 to 1991, and reports on briefings of presidents from 1952 to 1992, and much more information. Central Intelligence Agency This page, via the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) site, documents findings of a commission investigating "charges of mediocre performance, lapses in management, and loss of direction at the Central Intelligence Agency [which] played a major role in the formation of this Commission. The Aldrich Ames debacle, in particular, was seen by many as a sign that the CIA needed a major overhaul." (The Federation of American Scientists is a "nonprofit organization founded in 1945 as the Federation of Atomic Scientists.  Our founders were members of the Manhattan Project, creators of the atom bomb and deeply concerned about the implications of its use for the future of humankind. FAS is the oldest organization dedicated to ending the worldwide arms race, achieving complete nuclear disarmament, and avoiding the use of nuclear weapons for any purpose.") Back to top of page Library Databases relevant to the subject of the CIA The following Santa Monica College Library online databases may contain material relevant to the subject of the CIA.  Databases may include magazine, newspaper and journal articles.  Off-campus users, please note: you must be a Santa Monica College student, faculty or staff member to use these services. Military and Government Collection Designed to offer current news pertaining to all branches of the military and government, provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 350 journals and periodicals and indexing and abstracts for more than 450 titles. Oxford Reference: Military History Dictionaries and reference titles on military history. Academic Search Premier, MasterFile Premier Academic Search Premier and MasterFile Premier provide full text for over 6200 periodicals including full text for more than 3,500 peer-reviewed journals. Coverage spans virtually every area of academic study and offers information dating as far back as 1975. Philosophy and Religion Collection Covers such topics as epistemology, political philosophy, philosophy of language, moral philosophy and the history of philosophy, world religions, biblical studies, religious history. Includes more than 300 full text journals. National Newspapers (U.S.) Searchable index for recent issues of the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. Full-text for newer issues and citations for older materials. More information on coverage Newspaper Source (Regional, National and International) Provides selected full text for 25 national (U.S.) and international newspapers. The database also contains full text television & radio news transcripts, and selected full text for more than 200 regional (U.S.) newspapers. Ethnic NewsWatch News, culture and history from the newspapers, magazines and journals of the ethnic, minority and native press -- English and Spanish language. CountryWatch Country Reviews provide geographical, political, economic, corporate and environmental information for every country in the world. Country Wire is compiled from the wire services on the latest political, economic, corporate, and environmental events on a country by country basis. Readers' Guide Retrospective 1890-1982 Comprehensive indexing of general-interest periodicals. Coverage includes the years 1890 through 1982. JSTOR Back issues of over 300 scholarly journals in a wide variety of disciplines: African American Studies, African Studies, Anthropology, Archeology, Art and Architecture, Asian Studies, Ecology, Economics, Education, Finance, Geography, History, Language & Literature, Latin American Studies, Mathematics, Music, Middle East Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, Population Studies, Slavic Studies, Sociology and Statistics. Encyclopedia Americana Includes 45,000 articles, plus thousands of hypertext links to web sites featuring additional data. It is updated quarterly. Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnalls New World Provides over 25,000 encyclopedic entries covering a variety of subject areas. Researched and evaluated by: ap 5/22/02 Back to top of page