Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Parrish Library’s Database of the Week for 11/18/11

November 18th, 2011

Welcome to this feature from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. These database snapshots will give you basic information about our most relevant and beneficial online resources.

This Week’s Featured Database:  National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Link: www.lib.purdue.edu/mel, in the pull down Quick Access to Business Databases alpha list right below the Libraries’ search box.

Description/focus: US ag statistics.

Start with this hint:. NASS provides downloadable reports and spreadsheets based on the results of hundreds of surveys, including the most important Census of Agriculture which will again be taken in 2012.  The reports cover production, supplies, prices, labor, farm finances, chemical usage, and demographics.  NASS topics include commodities, animals, floriculture, pest management, and research. Click here to see the basics of searching NASS.

Why you should know this database:  NASS is a portal to information that has been collected by the federal government for the past two centuries.

How this database can be integrated into the curriculum:  Through NASS, students can find historical information to see US agricultural statistics change over time. Students can also contact experts at NASS to get help finding information not readily available online.

Cost: There is no cost to access NASS.

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Database of the Week comes to you from the Roland G. Parrish Library of Management & Economics. Our intent is to give you a brief introduction to a database that you may not know.  If you would like more information about this database, or if you would like a demonstration of it for a class, contact kranlib@purdue.edu.  Database of the Week is archived  at https://blogs.lib.purdue.edu/news/category/MGMT/.  For more Purdue Libraries news, follow us on Twitter (@PurdueLibraries).

If you would like us to promote your favorite database, send an email to mdugan@purdue.edu.