Guides for Government Compact Discs (CD's)
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USA Counties: 1994
1. What is it?
- USA Counties is a CD-ROM database produced by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.
- It contains statistics from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Social Security Administration, other federal agencies, and private organizations.
- The database contains demographic, economic, and governmental data for 2,844 variables for the United States, all 50 states, and every county in each state.
- It includes all of the data from the 1991, 1986, and 1982 editions of the State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, the 1994, 1988, and 1983 editions of the County and City Data Book, other government statistical publications, and statistics not previous published. Some data series go back to 1969 (personal income) and 1970 (census data).
Subjects include age, agriculture, ancestry, banking, building permits, business patterns, crime, earnings, education, elections, government, health, housing, income, labor force and employment, manufactures, population, poverty, retail trade, service industries, social programs, veterans, vital statistics, and wholesale trade.
2. Who produces it?
- U. S. Commerce Department, Census Bureau.
3. Are there guides to using it?
- Technical documentation is included on the disc. (See "HELP", below.)
4. Is it updated?
- CD's of the 1994 and 1996 edition are in the government documents collection. The newest edition is online: http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS22642
5. Can the CD-ROM be checked out?
- Yes.
6. Sudoc number (disc's call number in C. T. Ryan Library):
- C 3. 134/6: (year)
7. Is there a paper equivalent in C. T. Ryan Library?
- Many of the sources are available in paper.
- Examples: State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, C 3. 134/5: (year) (most recent in Government Documents Reference Collection); County and City Data Book, C 3. 134/2: (year) (most recent in Government Documents Reference Collection); 1970 census data, C 3. 223/9: 970/vol./nos.; 1980 census data, C 3. 223/6: 980/vol./nos.; 1990 census data, C 3. 223/6: 990/vol./nos. (1990 census reports for Nebraska are in Government Documents Reference Collection). Other editions and parts of the preceding sets are in the main documents collection and may be checked out.
8. Tricks:
USING IT:
- Use the arrow keys to select the U. S. or a state; press Enter.
- If a state is selected, you may then select data for the whole state or for any of its counties. Use the arrow keys to move to desired selection and press Enter. You may type in the first letter of a county to move to that part of the alphabet.
- Once a geographical area has been selected, a list of tables appears. Highlight the desired subject and press Enter.
- A menu at the bottom of the screen lists various options. Select the desired option by typing its first letter (highlighted on the screen). Options include:
- Area = Allows selection of a new geographic area such as a different county or state and then displays the data.
- Table = Allows selection of a different table for the same area.
- Browse = Allows you to see the same data item for other areas.
- Print = Allows you to print either the table on the screen or a single data item from that table for several areas. Print option also allows you to download data asit appears on the screen to a disk.
- Copy = Allows you to copy the table or selected data items to a disk. Data may be copied in ASCII, dBASEIII, or spreadsheet format.
- Footnotes = Displays footnote information for the geographic area and data item selected. (Not always available.)
- Legend = Displays meaning of symbols/codes used in the tables. Example: NA = not available.
- F1 key = View and print the Technical Documentation on the CD.
- Esc = Escape key takes you back to the previous screen.
- End = Exit from the CD.
HELP:
- Technical Documentation is available from the very first screen or after you have selected a geographic area: press F1 key. Information is provided about the CD's software, its LandView II mapping software, locating tables, files, the data dictionary, sources, user notes, and appendices.
PRINTING:
- Press P.
- Select "Complete table for this area" or "Single item for several areas". Press Enter.
- From the next menu, select "Print table to printer". Press Enter.
COPYING (DOWNLOADING):
- Place a portable storage device in drive.
- Press C. A file options menu appears next; select one of the four options (ASCII flat, ASCII delimited, WKS1 spreadsheet; or dBASE III).
- Next you must select the geographical area: "All county totals for (state)", "All state and U. S. totals", or "All county, state, and U. S. totals".
- After you have selected the desired geographical area(s), you are allowed to pick five items from the table you are viewing. Move cursor over the numbers you want and press Enter to mark the five.
- Press F2 key to process your request. At the "Enter file name" prompt, erase the C:\ and type in (drive letter):\smith, where smith is the filename you have given to the data.
GETTING OUT:
- Press End key.
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Format, courtesy of Robert Lopresti, Wilson Library, Western Wash. Univ., Bellingham, WA
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Diana J. Keith
Associate Professor
Government Documents Librarian
Government Documents Department
Calvin T. Ryan Library
University of Nebraska at Kearney
Kearney, NE 68849-2240
Revised June, 2009
E-mail: keithdi@unk.edu
Phone: 308-865-8542