National data and reports
- U.S. Census BureauThe US Census Bureau collects a wealth of data on the people and the economy of the United States. Use the search box or browse by topic (an A-Z index is included).
- Data.census.govAn easy-to-use portal for accessing U.S. Census data on age, race, income, educational attainment, housing, employment. Allows for simple and advanced searches and mapping.
- Data.govThousands of US government datasets.
- Statistical Abstract of the US (Historical)Access to compendia of statistical data from the 1870s through 2012.
- US Dept. of Education - DataStatistics on everything from student demographics to college costs to suspensions & discipline.
- NCES - National Center for Education StatisticsAnother rich resource of statistical information on education.
- US Department of Housing & Urban Development - PD&RThe Office of Policy Development & Research offers research, publications, and data sets on housing in the U.S.
- US Dept. of Health & Human Services - ResearchProvides links to the divisions of the HHS that produce statistics and reports, including the CDC.
- CDC - Centers for Disease Control and PreventionData and publications not just on diseases, but also on public health, safety, and more.
- US Department of Agriculture - Food & Nutrition linksLinks to research on food & nutrition, including the SNAP and WIC programs.
- US Bureau of Labor StatisticsAll the statistics you can imagine on employment and unemployment, pay and benefits, prices, etc.
- US Bureau of Justice StatisticsData related to crime, corrections, and the criminal justice system.
Alabama data and reports
- U of Alabama Center for Business & Economic ResearchResearch specific to Alabama. See the "Alabama State Data Center" tab.
- Alabama Dept of Public Health - Health StatsPublic health statistics on a variety of topics.
- Alabama State Dept. of EducationThe Data Center tab links to statistics on enrollment, graduation, discipline, funding, etc.
- Alabama Dept of Human Resources facts & figuresAnnual reports include information on family services, food assistance, etc.
- Alabama Crime StatisticsCrime in Alabama Reports, from the State of Alabama Law Enforcement Agency
- Alabama Center for Real Estate - ReportsIncludes information on the real estate market and affordability in Alabama.
The library's Statista database allows you to search for international, national, and state statistics on many topics, drawing on multiple sources (it's not as effective for finding local information). Try it out!
- Statista This link opens in a new windowStatista provides statistical data on many topics including media, business, politics, society, technology and education. Sources include market reports, trade publications, scientific journals, and government databases. Charts can be downloaded in PNG, PowerPoint, Excel or PDF formats or embedded in web pages and can be great in papers or presentations. Data can be accessed by searching or browsing by industry, topic, country, digital market or infographic.
News Sources
- Newspaper Source This link opens in a new windowNewspaper Source provides cover-to-cover full text for more than 40 (U.S.) & international newspapers. The database also contains selective full text for 389 regional (U.S.) newspapers. In addition, full text television & radio news transcripts are also provided.
- ProQuest Newspapers This link opens in a new windowIncludes ProQuest Global Newsstream, Ethnic NewsWatch, and ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times (1851-2014)
- New York Times - CurrentSearchable back to 1851; access the full text of 10 free articles per month.
- New York Times, Historical This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
Contains citations, abstracts and full text of the New York Times from 1851 to 2016. | Watch Video Tutorial
- Politicoa global news company whose goal is "to help sustain and vastly expand nonpartisan political and policy journalism."
- AlterNetAn independent news source that aims "to inspire action and advocacy on the environment, human rights and civil liberties, social justice, media, health care issues, and more."
- AL.comA mainstream news source for Alabama; searchable for the past 10 years or so.
- Shelby County ReporterUseful for local issues. Searchable.
Check this out!
Check out this powerful resource, the Opportunity Atlas, which uses Census and IRS data to show (for the first time) how much children who grew up in a particular neighborhood earn as adults. You can listen to an NPR story about the atlas here!
