Featured Online Resource: Census Business Builder (Small Business Edition)

Small business owners, marketing students, and more may be interested in trying out the Census Bureau's new tool, the "Census Business Builder."

The primary purpose of the Census Business Builder is to help small business owners review demographic and economic information for geographic areas.  This helps them to determine whether certain locations would be a good spot for starting or moving their business.

The page includes links to videos and other tutorials to help you get started.  The video below provides a basic introduction to the tool.

In addition to the Census Business Builder, the Census Bureau provides a great variety of tools that can help you with your statistical research.  Check out some of them here: Census Data Tools & Apps.

American FactFinder Workshop registration extended through Friday, March 27. Workshop date: Friday, April 3.

If you missed your chance to register for one or both of the American FactFinder workshops scheduled for Friday, April 3, we have extended the registration deadline until Friday, March 27.  Be sure to check the link below for more information.



The Lewis J Ort is providing free training on American FactFinder on Friday, April 3, 2015.

American FactFinder is the US Census Bureau's web site for locating a variety of information such as demographic, housing, and economic statistics.

The Library will be hosting two workshops.  The morning workshop provides an introduction the Census data and the use of the web site.  The afternoon session is for intermediate users of the service.  You are welcome to register for one or both workshops.  Registration deadline is Friday, March 20, 2015, March 27, 2015.

• Presenter: Nesreen Khashan, Data Dissemination Specialist, US Census Bureau
• Date: Friday, April 3, 2015
• Workshop 1:  9:00 am - 12:00 noon - Census Bureau Housing and Demographics Statistics Introduction
• Workshop 2: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Census Bureau Statistics—Demographics and Economic Programs for Intermediate Users

Additional information, including workshop descriptions, flyer, and registration form can be found here: http://libguides.frostburg.edu/affseminar. 

American FactFinder Workshops - April 3, 2015

The Lewis J Ort is providing free training on American FactFinder on Friday, April 3, 2015.

American FactFinder is the US Census Bureau's web site for locating a variety of information such as demographic, housing, and economic statistics.

The Library will be hosting two workshops.  The morning workshop provides an introduction the Census data and the use of the web site.  The afternoon session is for intermediate users of the service.  You are welcome to register for one or both workshops.  Registration deadline is Friday, March 20, 2015.

• Presenter: Nesreen Khashan, Data Dissemination Specialist, US Census Bureau
• Date: Friday, April 3, 2015
• Workshop 1:  9:00 am - 12:00 noon - Census Bureau Housing and Demographics Statistics Introduction
• Workshop 2: 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Census Bureau Statistics—Demographics and Economic Programs for Intermediate Users

Additional information, including workshop descriptions, flyer, and registration form can be found here: http://libguides.frostburg.edu/affseminar. 

Featured Online Resource: Maryland State Data Center

Update: Due to the Federal government shutdown, some of the links that go directly to the Census Bureau may be temporarily offline.  The State web site is still up and running, though!

Are you in need of statistical information related to the State of Maryland, and are not sure where to start?Consider browsing the Maryland State Data Center Web site (http://www.mdp.state.md.us/msdc/).

The data center is a partner with the US Census Bureau, compiling statistics of particular interest to the State of Maryland.  However, it is not limited to Census data.  You can also find data from other agencies like the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Maryland Department of Planning.

Featured resources include:

• A link to the Maryland Statistical Handbook, which includes population statistics as well as data related to crime, economics, education, and more. (Also see flip-book below.)
• Summaries of county-specific data.
• The Data Center's blog, The Maryland Data Mine.
• Map application for American Community Survey data, which allows you to create custom maps for selected Maryland data sets. (Found under the ACS tab.)
• Many more options to be found just by browsing the Web site!

Every week, the Ort Library brings you a new and outstanding resource from the Web or from one of the library's databases. To get an archive of all FOR entries, click here. Also, you can suggest a website that provides well-organized access to useful info.

More Rasslin Books!

Here's a Huffington Post column by writer and publishing-industry veteran Jason Pinter discussing how choices made by a female-dominated publishing industry affect the number of male readers. One of the incidents that alerted him to this problem was his difficulty pitching a memoir by pro wrestler Chris Jericho (pictured).

Laura Miller of Salon.com gives a digest of reactions to the piece.