{
  "id": "1997-january-from-the-nicar-library",
  "slug": "1997-january-from-the-nicar-library",
  "url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1997-january-from-the-nicar-library.html",
  "year": 1997,
  "month": "January",
  "monthNum": 1,
  "headline": "From the NICAR library",
  "kicker": "Growing collection of federal databases",
  "author_name": "",
  "author_title": "",
  "affiliation": "IRE and NICAR",
  "summary": "NICAR provides access to a comprehensive collection of federal government databases covering aviation, transportation, finance, health, crime, and safety records for investigative journalism purposes.",
  "keywords": [
    "databases",
    "federal",
    "journalism"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Data & Databases",
    "Investigative Methods"
  ],
  "technologies": [
    "CD-ROM"
  ],
  "full_text": "NICAR offers a number of federal government databases. Here is a list of our growing collection:\n\nNEW Federal Aviation Administration's accidents and incidents, including major plane crashes since 1971.\nNEW NASA's air safety reporting system, including anonymous complaints by pilots and air traffic controllers. Useful for finding near misses and problems at local airports, 1988-1996.\nA monthly CD subscription for all 1995-96 Federal Election Commission campaign contributions by individuals and political action committees, plus all presidential matching fund requests.\nThe Health Care Financing Administration's 1995 database of all Medicare-funded inpatient work in U.S. hospitals.\nFederal Railroad Administration data for accidents, casualties, and highway crossings. 1991-1995.\nCoast Guard boating accidents, 1969-1994.\nFederal Aviation Administration data, including airplane maintenance work documented in the service difficulty report, pilot licenses and grades, and aircraft registration.\nHome Mortgage Disclosure Act records, for tracking who gets loans and who gets turned down, and finding redlining patterns, 1992-1995.\nFederal procurement data, 1992-1995, includes breakdowns by agency.\nAlcohol, Tobacco and Firearms gun dealer records. 1993-1995.\nNational Bridge Inventory System data, includes inspection grades. 1994-1995\nNEW FBI Uniform Crime Reports, a detailed compilation of crime data that includes statistical breakdowns of individual murders. This includes the new 1995 data.\nSocial Security death records, by name and social security number, going back to 1937.\nOccupational Safety and Health Administration violation data includes worker accidents and exposures to hazardous chemicals by companies, 1974-1996.\nU.S. Department of Transportation truck accident and census data. It includes accidents by company and road.\nU.S. Small Business Administration loan guarantees, 1989-1995. This includes the name of the business, address, amount covered by the SBA, and status, including whether the loan went bad.\nU.S. Small Business Administration disaster loan guarantees, 1989-1995. This includes individuals and businesses, the amount covered by the SBA, and the status, including whether the loan went bad.\nU.S. Small Business Administration's list of minority companies certified for SBA assistance in seeking federal contracts. It includes the name of the company, its address, the owner, type of business and phone number.\nThe National Inventory of Dams. 1991-1995.\nU.S. Department of Transportation hazardous materials accidents database, a collection of roadway, rail, air and waterway accidents from 1971 to 1995.\nU.S. Department of Transportation fatal accident reporting system. It includes all roadway accidents from 1988 to 1995.\nU.S. Coast Guard directory of U.S. merchant vessels. It includes the name of the ship, the managing owner, home port and various descriptive information.\n\nFor up-to-date prices and more information, call (573) 882-0684, or send e-mail to nicar@muccmail.missouri.edu.",
  "provenance": {
    "extracted_by": "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4-6",
    "extracted_at": "2026-07-05",
    "verified": true
  },
  "similar": [
    {
      "slug": "1995-november-from-the-nicar-library",
      "score": 0.871
    },
    {
      "slug": "1997-april-from-the-nicar-library",
      "score": 0.846
    },
    {
      "slug": "1997-march-growing-collection-of-federal-databases",
      "score": 0.797
    },
    {
      "slug": "1997-june-from-the-nicar-library",
      "score": 0.725
    },
    {
      "slug": "1996-august-from-the-nicar-library",
      "score": 0.721
    }
  ],
  "html_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1997-january-from-the-nicar-library.html",
  "json_url": "https://dwillis.github.io/uplink/article/1997-january-from-the-nicar-library.json"
}