Numeric Data Services And Sources For The General Reference Librarian

Numeric Data Services and Sources for the General Reference Librarian

The proliferation of online access to social science statistical and numeric data sources, such as the U.S. Census Bureau's American Fact Finder, has lead to an increased interest in supporting these sources in academic libraries. Many large libraries have been able to devote staff to data services for years, and recently smaller academic libraries have recognized the need to provide numeric data services and support. This guidebook serves as a primer to developing and supporting social science statistical and numerical data sources in the academic library. It provides strategies for the establishment of data services and offers short descriptions of the essential sources of free and commercial social science statistical and numeric data. Finally, it discusses the future of numeric data services, including the integration of statistics and data into library instruction and the use of Web 2.0 tools to visualize data. - Written for a general reference audience with little knowledge of data services and sources who would like to incorporate support into their general reference practice - Combines information on establishing data services with an introduction to available statistical and numeric data sources - Provides insight into the integration of statistics and data into library instruction and the social science research process

The Reference Guide to Data Sources

This concise sourcebook takes the guesswork out of locating the best sources of data, a process more important than ever as the data landscape grows increasingly cluttered. Much of the most frequently used data can be found free online, and this book shows readers how to look for it with the assistance of user-friendly tools. This thoroughly annotated guide will be a boon to library staff at public libraries, high school libraries, academic libraries, and other research institutions, with concentrated coverage of Data sources for frequently researched subjects such as agriculture, the earth sciences, economics, energy, political science, transportation, and many more The basics of data reference along with an overview of the most useful sources, focusing on free online sources of reliable statistics like government agencies and NGOs Statistical datasets, and how to understand and make use of them How to use article databases, WorldCat, and subject experts to find data Methods for citing data Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA) software This guide cuts through the data jargon to help librarians and researchers find exactly what they're looking for.

Numeric Data Products and Services