About the Homeland Security Digital Library

The Homeland Security Digital Library (HSDL) is the nation’s premier collection of documents related to homeland security policy, strategy, and organizational management. The HSDL is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Preparedness Directorate, FEMA and the Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security.

Mission

To strengthen the national security of the United States by supporting local, state, tribal, territorial and federal analysis, debate, and decision-making needs and to assist academics of all disciplines in homeland defense and security related research.

Sources

Resources in the Homeland Security Digital Library cover a wide range of homeland security topics and are carefully selected and evaluated by a team of librarians and content specialists. Sources include, but are not limited to:

• Federal, state and local governments
• International governments and institutions
• Nonprofit organizations and private sector entities
• Think tanks, research centers, colleges and universities

The HSDL Collection

The majority of the items in the HSDL Collection are openly searchable and available to the public, with no account or authorization necessary.  This public collection includes items such as:

• U.S. Policy and Strategy Documents related to homeland security: General U.S. Policy Documents, National Strategies, Executive Orders and Presidential Directives, and Key Legislation
• Congressional Hearings and Legislation
• CRS Reports & Issue Briefs
• GAO Reports & Testimony
• Theses & Research Reports from U.S. federal academic institutions, particularly the Naval Postgraduate School
• Research Tools such as grants, statistics, and books and journals (the HSDL does not collect commercially published and print materials, we do maintain a list of publishers and sources)
• Thousands of additional resources released by U.S. federal government agencies and organizations

The remainder of the collection is open to government officials at the local, state, tribal, territorial or federal levels, as well as the U.S. military.  It is also open to homeland security research or educational institutions, their faculty and their students.  See more about eligibility.  The larger, full collection contains items from both public and private sectors to include resources such as reports, studies, videos, webcasts, and analyses from national and international think tanks; state and local governments; foreign governments; educational institutions; and national and international organizations.

Curated Content

HSDL Staff maintain a variety of resources which provide quick access to the most sought-after content:

• HSDL Blog: On the Homefront – Posts highlighting recent reports and current issues in homeland security
• Timeline – Chronological listing of events and milestones related to homeland security and emergency management
• In Focus – Short lists of resources in the HSDL collection that are highly relevant to current events
• Featured Topics – In-depth lists of resources in the HSDL collection focusing on major homeland security topics
• Twitter feed – HSDL Updates and news-worthy items from the greater homeland security community

Restricted Collection

The Restricted Collection is a repository of sensitive materials collected from national, state and local fusion centers, threat analysis centers, and law enforcement organizations.  It is available only to U.S. government officials or active members of the U.S. military.  Read more or see eligibility.

Services

Individual account-holders have access to the following features:

• Alerts to New Content: weekly alerts – sent to you by email – based on saved searches
• Subscription to Critical Releases: a short list of the most significant resources added during the previous two weeks