RCT Documentation Centre

The Documentation Centre (DC) of the Denmark-based Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims (RCT), established in 1987, is the world's largest library dedicated specifically to the subject of torture, prevention of torture, and the rehabilitation of torture victims. The DC collects and disseminates materials on all aspects of torture, in both electronic and printed formats with a special focus on scientific literature relating to the medical aspects of torture.

The Documentation Centre's collection consists of more than 40,000 items, comprising books, journals, articles, reports, picture materials and CD-ROMs. The DC provides services free of charge to organisations and individuals worldwide, including rehabilitation centres, governments, refugee organisations, human rights organisations, lawyers working with cases related to torture, the media, and students - particularly those in the health professions.

The RCT Documentation Centre collects and catalogues scientific literature, picture materials and other information resources on torture, the sequelae of torture and on the treatment and rehabilitation of torture victims, from anywhere in the world and in all forms and languages available. 

How to Access the Collection

Books, reports, journals, articles, and parts of the picture collection are all catalogued in detail in the Documentation Centre's databases. Keywords in English are added for all items in the databases, and abstracts of articles and contents lists of books are entered in order to allow both precise and exhaustive retrieval of information contained in the collection.

Services

The RCT Documentation Centre extends its services to anyone, anywhere in the world, in need of information on the subject of torture. We offer:

• searches of the Documentation Centre's database of references to nearly 13,000 (as of August 2000) books, reports and articles on torture and subjects related to torture rehabilitation and prevention
• delivery of search results, by e-mail, fax or ordinary mail
• document delivery service of items in our collection
• searches of additional resources (the Internet etc.) for information on specific aspects of torture victims, rehabilitation and prevention of torture
• loan of a series of picture materials from our collection, pre-selected for doctors, nurses and journalists
• visitors can search our databases (either unassisted or with the assistance of staff) and browse our collections, and are welcome to use our library room for reading and studying

If you have any need for literature or factual information on the subject of torture, you are welcome to contact us. Please describe as precisely as possible what it is you are looking for, and we will do our best to assist you.

Services from the Documentation Centre are mainly provided free of charge. For very large photocopying jobs or extensive searches you may, however, be requested to pay a fee to cover technical expenses.

How to help the RCT Documentation Centre

The Documentation Centre aims to collect, catalogue and make available all documents containing reliable and important information on torture. This goal can only be reached through the combined efforts of our staff and the international community of individuals and organisations taking an interest in this subject. If you, or your organisation, produce an article, report, pamphlet or other type of document containing information of relevance to the work against torture, we will be very grateful for being notified, and, if possible, receiving a copy.

Contact the Documentation Centre

The Documentation Centre staff can be contacted by mail, e-mail, telephone or fax, or in person. Visitors are most welcome, but you are encouraged to make an appointment in advance, in order to ensure that our staff can give you full attention when you arrive.

RCT Documentation Centre
Borgergade 13
P.O. Box 9049
DK-1022 Copenhagen K
Denmark

Telephone: +45 33 76 06 00
Fax: +45 33 76 05 00
Email: rctdoc@rct.dk