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Super Sources: The Cream of the Crop

The resources described in this chapter are the cream of the information-source crop. They range from museums to the federal government, from the state business filing registry offices to other storehouses of information, but they all have a few things in common. Each contains information on an enormous scope of subjects. Each can easily be tapped for answers and advice. And each provides answers either free of charge or nearly free.

I've organized these sources into the following broad categories:

• The Best of the Library Sources

• The Best of the U.S. Government Sources

• Business Super Sources

• Statistical Sources

• Scholarly Databases, Theses, and Journals

• Open Access and Public Data Sets

• Other Super Sources

The Best of the Library Sources

In Chapter 2, I examine the continuing value of libraries in the digital age and how to make the best use of libraries when doing research. Here I'll simply list a handful of the very best individual libraries and library-oriented resources that you can turn to in order to find information on virtually any topic you are researching. This section is broken up into two subcategories: "The Best of the Best" and "The Rest of the Best."

The Best of the Best

Source:Library of Congress

The U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., is the largest library in the world. Its collection includes millions of volumes and pamphlets, technical reports, maps, manuscripts, photographs, negatives, prints, and slides. The library is also known for its collection of rare books and foreign publications.

Using the Library of Congress's vast resources can be tricky — not only because there is so much information available but also because the library's policy discourages extensive reference usage when the same materials are available on a more local level. However, it does assist users in researching topics unique to the library (such as copyright, legislative research, and international law).

There are also certain services and sections of the Library of Congress that are set up specifically to help the public find and use its resources:

• Ask a Librarian. Click on a specific subject area and see a page with the range of the Library of Congress's resources, and have the opportunity to pose your research question to a librarian. You should receive a response within five cases. In some cases, you can even have a live chat.

• Virtual Reference Shelf. A list of sites and resources recommended by the Library of Congress on topics ranging from architecture to statistics.

• Searchable databases. While many of these powerful databases are available only for in-library use at the Library of Congress itself, others are free and available remotely.

There's a lot more — spend time browsing and searching the site and you'll see for yourself!

Source:WorldCat (OCLC)

Do you have need to find the library closest to you that has a copy of a particular book (or music CD or DVD)? Just enter the name of the item and your zip code into WorldCat and you'll get an immediate listing of which libraries nearest you have that item on their shelves. (You can do a lot more on WorldCat too, including finding journal articles and downloading ebooks, but its fundamental purpose is to seamlessly search about 10,000 of the world's library catalogs to help people find the books or other content they seek.)

Note that when you find a book on Google Books, the dropdown menu under "Get this book in print" includes a "Find in a library" link to the WorldCat entry for that title.

Source:The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a tremendous source of all kinds of information. The library's mid-Manhattan branch is especially rich in its holdings and regularly answers inquiries from around the country via its ASK NYPL reference service, which accepts phone calls at 917-ASK-NYPL from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday through Saturday. Email requests are also accepted. Its collections cover the fields of art, business, education, history, literature and language, and science. In addition, the library contains an extensive image collection.

Specialized research collections of the NYPL include the George Arents Collection on Tobacco; Berg Collection of English and American Literature; Dorot Jewish Division; Jean Blackwell Hutson Research and Reference Division, which focuses on peoples of African descent throughout the world; Jerome Robbins Archive of the Recorded Moving Image; Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division; Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Science/Industry and Business Library; Spencer Collection of illustrated word and book bindings of all periods and all countries and cultures; and the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive. There is also the Performing Arts Research Center, which answers inquiries regarding music, dance, and theater at no charge.

Here are just a few of the ways you can start learning about the resources of the NYPL:

Research Guides. The NYPL has created detailed step-by-step instructions on how to begin research in the library on many different subject areas, ranging from historical photographs to maps to patents.

Digital Collections: The NYPL has digitized over 800,000 items from its holdings and made them available online. There are digitized photographs, audio, and other formats, on topics ranging from the arts to maps, birds, immigration, and social conditions.

Articles and Databases: All of these are free to use when visiting the NYPL in person; online, there are a mixture of free and fee-based databases.

The Rest of the Best

Source:The Center for Research Libraries (CRL)

The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is an international consortium of university, college, and independent research libraries headquartered in Chicago and it makes its catalog of holdings available for free searching on the web. Documents themselves are available on loan free to member libraries or to nonmember libraries for a fee. CRL's holdings include international newspapers, doctoral dissertations, and much more.

Source:CiteSeer

CiteSeer is a digital scientific literature library that focuses primarily on computer and information science.

The Best of the U.S. Government Sources

The U.S. government is a gold mine of information. Although some government resources and information services have been eliminated over the years, an awesome amount of advice, data, and information is still available — and since the mid-2000s or so the focus of the government has been to make much of that information freely and easily available over the internet. Information is available from the government on a vast number of topics. The following table of departments and agencies, along with selected topics each covers, should give you a good feel for what's available.

To get connected to the best research resources for each of these departments or agencies, access their website (a simple Google search with the name of the department or agency will bring you there) and look for assistance right on the homepage.

The government is so huge that it is impossible to describe in a single chapter (or an entire book for that matter) the full range of information available. However, to give you a taste of what you can find, I have listed below a selection of my favorite clearinghouses and all-purpose resources for locating the most broadly useful information. Note that none of these is completely comprehensive, and many federal search sites are disappointingly subpar when it comes to navigation, design, and interface. But I have found that the following sites represent the best of what the federal government offers today to help ordinary people find the resources, documents, reports, or other sources of expertise they need.

One-Stop Government Clearinghouses

Source:Data.gov

Data.gov is an open-site source with a collection of tools and data sets for researchers who want to use government data to inform their own research or create new types of applications. There are over 100,000 data sets from dozens of agencies, which can be searched on topics such as weather, the economy, health records, international trade, civil rights, criminal justice, geographic data, and much more.

Source:FedStats

FedStats offers researchers access to the full range of official statistical information produced by the federal government without having to know in advance which federal agency produces which particular statistic. You can search and link to more than 100 agencies that provide data and trend information on such topics as economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production, and more.

Source:GPO Federal Digital System (FDSYS)

FDSYS provides free online access to official publications from all three branches of the federal government and permits users to search for, browse, and download documents and publications. Sample documents include The Federal Register; The 9-11 Commission Report; The Budget of the U.S. Government (by year); congressional committee reports; congressional bills and hearings; Supreme Court decisions; and historical documents such as the Wilderness Act of 1964 or The Surgeon General's Report on Smoking and Health.

Source:MetaLib

MetaLib lets users search across a set of dozens of U.S. federal government resources, including agencies, data sets, and reports, and retrieves actual documents and links to the original source material. I have found it to be one of the most powerful and advanced search sites created by the federal government.

Source: USA.Gov

This clearinghouse is geared for consumers and small businesses that need general information and questions answered. It includes information on making a consumer complaint, starting a business, and similar topics. One particularly useful part of the site is its Business Data section, where you can find data on banking, earnings data/statistics, labor data, economic analysis, regional business information, trade statistics, and more.

Source:Contact Your Government, by Topic

A browsable directory of contacts for key government agencies and departments

Source:Demographics

A listing and links to the most comprehensive sources from the federal government that provide demographic data

Searchable Databases

In addition to the one-stop clearinghouses we've just considered, look for government sites that don't merely provide general information about the relevant program, its scope, and links to resources, but actually offer free searchable databases. Such sites allow you to conduct advanced, precision keyword searches across large amounts of data, reports, findings, and the like. Following are a number of agency databases, listed by broad topic, that I recommend.

Agriculture

Agricola: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agriculture Library

Library of Agriculture Decisions

Banking/Financial

FDIC datasets: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Federal Reserve Board materials: Federal Reserve Board

Home Mortgage Disclosure Act: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council

Credit Union Data: National Credit Union Administration

Country Information

U.S. Bilateral Relations Fact Sheets: U.S. Department of the State

CIA Factbook: CIA

Country Studies: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress

Economy/Economic Data

Economic Report of the President: Council of Economic Advisors

Federal Reserve Archive System for Economic Research: Federal Reserve Bank

Federal Reserve Economic Data: Federal Reserve Bank

Economic Indicators: Council of Economic Advisors

Employment/Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics Search: Bureau of Labor Statistics

National Labor Relations Board Search: National Labor Relations Board

O*Net Occupational Requirements: U.S. Department of Labor

Energy and Environment

ADAMS Nuclear Information: UN Nuclear Regulatory Commission

DOE Research and Development Project Summaries: Department of Energy

Energy Citations Database: Department of Energy

EnergyFiles: Department of Energy

Envirofacts: Environmental Protection Agency

International Energy Annual: Department of Energy

National Climatic Data Center Search: NOAA, Department of Commerce

Superfund Site Information: Environmental Protection Agency

The Information Bridge: Department of Energy

Government Procurement

Federal Business Opportunities: General Services Administration

Health

CDC Wonder: Department of Health and Human Services

Entrez: National Institutes of Health; National Library of Medicine; National Center for Biotechnology Information

Household Products Database: National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

Medline Plus: National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

National Center for Health Statistics Search: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services

National Library of Medicine Databases and Electronic Resources: National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

National Toxicology Program: National Institutes of Health, National Toxicology Program

PubMed Central: National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

TOXNET: National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine

Import/Export/Trade

Exporter Database: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

Foreign Trade Statistics: Census Bureau

Interactive Tariff and Trade Database: U.S. International Trade Commission

Market Research Library: Department of Commerce, U.S. Commercial Service

Trade Compliance Center: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

Trade Data & Analysis: Industry Data: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

TradeStats Express: U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

Virtual World Trade Reference Room: Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration

Patents, Trademarks, and Copyright

Search Copyright Records: U.S. Library of Congress

Trademark Electronic Search System (TESS): U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

USPTO Search: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Transportation

Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS): U.S. Department of Transportation, National Center for Statistics & Analysis

TRIS: Online Transportation Research Information Services: U.S. Department of Transportation, Transportation Research Board

Miscellaneous Searchable Federal Databases

Federal Trade Commission: Search: Federal Trade Commission

Global Legal Information Network: Library of Congress

The Rest of the Best

Source:Census Bureau

Do you want to know which neighborhoods have the highest concentration of people over 65 years of age? How many women work in the medical field? Which sections of Florida are the wealthiest? The U.S. Census Bureau can supply you with figures on these and countless other data-oriented questions. Major areas covered include agriculture, business, construction, foreign nations, foreign trade, geography, governments, housing, manufacturing, mineral industries, people, retail trade, service industries, and transportation.

If you link to the Bureau's main page you'll get a good sense of the wealth of information available at your fingertips. Some of my favorite all-purpose sections of the site are the American Fact Finder and the American Community Survey, State and County Quick Facts, its A to Z topic listing, and data from the 2010 Census. If you're looking for business data, be sure to check out the sections on economic censuses, state trade data, the industry statistics portal, USA Trade Online, and Statistics of U.S. Businesses.

Source:Statistical Agencies

The government is an enormous creator of all kinds of statistics, including tons of data related to business, industry, and trade. Many, though not all, of these sites are part of the Census Bureau. Here are a few of my favorite all-purpose sources:

• USA Trade Online

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

• U.S. International Trade Center DataWeb

• U.S. TradeStats Express

• U.S. International Trade Administration: Trade Statistics

• U.S. International Trade Administration: Data and Analysis

You may have come across a prominent book that has sometimes been called the "bible for statistics" of all types, the Statistical Abstract of the United States, an annual compilation published by the Census Bureau with tens of thousands of statistics ranging from the number of eye operations performed to the amount of ice cream consumed, and so on. Unfortunately, the Bureau stopped publishing the guide in 2011 due to budget cuts. On the bright side, a private information and publishing company, ProQuest, picked up the job of compiling the data and continued publishing new versions beginning in 2012, in both print and digital versions. So you can still find this ultimate government statistics source at many libraries.

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Excerpted from Find It Fast by Robert I. Berkman. Copyright © 2015 Robert I. Berkman. Excerpted by permission of Information Today, Inc..
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