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Nonlegal Information Guide:
Statistics, Business & Public Records

Introduction
             • Access to databases

Beyond NYU Law Library
             • Bobst Library

Beyond NYU
             • Science, Industry & Business Library
             • Brooklyn Business Library

List of Topics Covered in This Guide

 

Introduction

Factual research in general does not get much attention in law school, partly because casebooks tend to focus on appellate decisions and not at the trial level where the facts of a case are analyzed, and partly because “general purpose” research is not what you came here to study. But the strategic use of factual information can actually win your case for you. The classic success story is Muller v. Oregon, 208 U.S. 412 (1907), which concerned a state statute limiting the working hours of women. In that case, Mr. Louis D. Brandeis convinced the Supreme Court that the Oregon statute was valid on the basis of his archetypical brief, consisting of two pages of case law, seven pages of relevant foreign and American legislation, and ninety-four pages of statistical reports and data.

Furthermore, ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct 2.1, regarding the scope of an attorney’s role as an advisor, encourages lawyers to "refer not only to law but to other considerations such as moral, economic, social and political factors, that may be relevant to the client’s situation." The rule's Comment 4 recommends referring a client to professionals in other fields when necessary, but also states that a lawyer may have to propose a course of action that defies the advice of those experts; both rule and comment imply the necessity of research in extra-legal subjects.

You may find that factual information, although important to you and your client, but that the level of inquiry can be quite challenging. This guide is designed to assist you in some of the more detailed subject areas.

Practically speaking, statistics ("records, reports, statements, or data compilations, in any form....") if provided by "public offices or agencies, setting forth (A) the activities of the office or agency, or (B) matters observed pursuant to duty imposed by law as to which matters there was a duty to report...," according to hearsay exception 803 (8) of the Federal Rules of Evidence, may be able to be introduced as evidence in lieu of, or in support or impeachment of an expert witness. Thus many of the sources cited here are government documents or Web sites.

LexisNexis and Westlaw are given only a cursory mention here, but both services contain useful nonlegal databases, such as those for current news or SEC data.

Access to Databases

Please be aware that access to the subscription databases included here is limited to NYU Law School students and faculty with Net ID's and passwords.

If a password is required, and you are at an NYU Law School computer terminal, clicking on the link • Password Required will take you to the Password Information page. Then click on NYU Law School Web Applications Login; enter your Net ID and password to get to the Password List. In some cases, the password is not online and must be obtained from a reference librarian.


BEYOND NYU LAW LIBRARY

This guide refers you first to Bobst Library, and then identifies some excellent local business libraries to visit if you have difficulty finding the information you seek at NYU. Links to several online subject-specific research guides are provided in bulleted lists at the beginnings of some topics, along with some articles from LLRX.com (the Law Library Resource Xchange) and some books, to assist you in formulating a research strategy and to direct you to the most auspicious sources.

Bobst Library, on the Web at: http://library.nyu.edu
70 Washington Sq. South
New York, NY 10012-1091
(212) 998-2500

Bobst’s Business & Government Documents Center on the 6th floor provides services in business (national and international) and government documents (United States and United Nations). Phone: (212) 998-2600.
 

The NYU Virtual Business Library, online at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/, gives access to most of Bobst’s electronic business resources; however, a few of its resources are available only from Bobst’s computers.

BEYOND NYU

If you are unable to find the information you need on the Web or at NYU, you should know that New York City has two excellent business libraries. They both offer electronic information, but some of their databases are only available on-site and require a physical visit to access them, and of course many of their resources are in hard copy. NB: Other libraries are only given as locations for sources not available locally at NYU.

Science, Industry and Business Library (“SIBL”), on the Web at: http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/
188 Madison Avenue at 34th Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 592-7000

Take the A, B, C, D, E, F, Q, 1, 2, 3, or 9 trains to West 34th Street (Penn Station), and walk east across 34th Street to Madison Avenue.

From SIBL’s homepage, click the link Databases at SIBL, or go directly to http://www.nypl.org/databases/sibldb.cfm for a list of electronic databases that are available on-site at SIBL.

Research guides, including such topics as Market Research and Patents and Trademarks, are available at: http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/guides/.

Brooklyn Business Library  (“BBL”), on the Webat: http://www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/ 
280 Cadman Plaza West
Brooklyn, NY
(718) 623-7000

Take the 2, 3, 4, or 5 trains to Borough Hall, the A, C or F to Jay Street/ Borough Hall, or the N, R, or M to Court Street. If you don't exit on Court Street, it is one or two blocks away, depending on the line you take. It becomes Cadman Plaza in front of the court buildings.

Many of the electronic databases require entering a bar code number from a valid Brooklyn Public Library card.

List of Topics & Subtopics Covered in This Guide:

Accident Reports
Census Data
Company Research
          •  Public companies
          •  Private companies
          •  Wholly owned subsidiaries
          •  Current awareness sources for company research
Court Statistics
Criminal Statistics
Economic Data
Education Data
Employment Data
Environmental Compliance Data
Financial Information
Foreign & International Statistical and Business Information
Government Data, Generally
Industry Data
Medical Research & Data
Public Records
           •  Bankruptcy
           •  Criminal records
           •  Incorporation in NY
           •  Motor vehicle records
           •  Professional licensing records
           •  Uniform commercial code filings
           •  Vital records
Statistics & Law
Statistics Research, Generally
Statistics on the Legal Profession
Weather Data

 
 
Accident Reports:
The sources that follow are for federal accident statistics. For NYS motor vehicle accidents, see Accident Reports infra, in Public Records, Motor vehicle records.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent Federal  agency that investigates every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant highway, marine, pipeline, hazardous materials, and railroad accidents. It conducts special investigations and safety studies, and issues safety recommendations to prevent future accidents. Reports and publications from 1996 forward are available full text in PDF format, from http://www.ntsb.gov/. Older data, from 1962, may have online summaries or report numbers and may be accessed in the Public  Reference Room in Washington, or ordered. Fees may apply.

WorkplWorkplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics: Some data is produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and is available at http://www.bls.gov/; some, including Inspection Data, is offered by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration at http://www.osha.gov/.

Census Data:

Most of the sources in this section pertain to current census data. If you need archival statistics, and Historical Statistics, infra, does not provide the information you need, be aware that the Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy of the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, has federal census records available in its microform room for New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, 1790-1880; for New York, 1900, 1910, and 1920; and the New York State Census for selected years. Detailed information on the Division’s holdings are on the Web at: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/lhg/research.html#census. Statistical information from the U.S. Censuses, 1790-2000, is available at SIBL.

American FactFinder: Link to it from the Census Bureau’s home page at http://www.census.gov/ or go directly to: http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en for population, housing, economic and geographic data.

County and City Data Book: (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: U.S. G.P.O., 1952- ) NYU LL, Reference HA202.A36 for the most recent edition; older editions in B1.

Data for all counties and cities with a population of 25,000 or more. This site: http://www.census.gov/statab/www/ccdb.html contains selected features from the bound volume.

Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1957: GPO,  NYU LL, Oversize (B1)  NYUL K11.U55.H4 1960.

Several volumes of historical census statistics are in NYU LL at this call number, as supplements to the Statistical Abstract.

State and Metropolitan Area Data Book, 5th ed.: (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census: U.S. G.P.O., 1980- ) NYU LL, B1  HA202.S84.

The Data Book contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States at the State and metropolitan area levels. Selected data for component counties and central cities of metropolitan areas are also included. http://www.census.gov/statab/www/smadb.html contains selected features from the bound volume.

Statistical Abstract of the United States (Washington: G.P.O., 1879- ) NYU LL, Reference HA202 .S7x for the most recent edition; older editions in B1.

The ‘National Data Book’ contains a collection of statistics on social and economic conditions in the United States, and selected international data. It serves as a guide to other sources of data from the Census Bureau, other federal agencies, and private organizations. The Statistical Abstract is available online at: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/statistical-abstract-us.html.                                                     

Company Research:

Public companies:
Since the 1930's, the government has required that publicly traded companies disclose specific information to the government at specific times or under specific circumstances, in order to protect investors. That requirement makes researching public companies fairly easy, at least compared to private companies, as you will see. Information on the securities laws themselves, and more, is in the Securities Research Guide by Gretchen Feltes on the NYU LL Web page.

Since 1996, companies have been required to make (most) filings electronically through EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system. Filings can contain valuable information, such as the salaries of executives (in the 8-K, or in proxy materials, such as the Def 14A) and the disclosure of material legal proceedings (in the 10-Q). Descriptions of form types used for electronic filing on EDGAR are available on the SEC Web site, at: http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/forms/edgform.htm. PDF images of the forms themselves are posted at: http://www.sec.gov/about/forms/secforms.htm. SEC data is retrievable to researchers from a myriad of commercial sources (some free, some fee-based, some a combination), and for free from the SEC’s Website, http://www.sec.gov.

Why pay for information that the government supplies for "free"? Because some of the added editorial features may be extremely useful to you, such as the ability to download data into spreadsheets. A few of the commercial sources of SEC data are:

Pre-EDGAR data can be more of a challenge. Lexis and Westlaw both offer retrospective filings. Lexis’s SEC Online Database has full-text filings from July 1987 to September 1997 (current data in its EdgarPlus Database); Westlaw has full-text EDGAR filings from April 1993, and records of other filings from 1968 in EDGAR - S.E.C. Filings (data from 1996 to current in SECNOW, provided by Dow Jones Interactive).

Although they are not required to be disclosed to the SEC, annual reports to shareholders can also provide valuable information about public companies. According to the SEC’s Web site, "The Annual Report to Shareholders is the principal document used by most public companies to disclose corporate information to shareholders. It is usually a state-of-the-company report including an opening letter from the Chief Executive Officer, financial data, results of continuing operations, market segment information, new product plans, subsidiary activities and research and development activities on future programs." They can be acquired directly from a company in paper, posted on the company’s Web site, or accessed from sites such as AnnualReports.com, at http://www.reportgallery.com/, a free service that provides reports in pdf or html format. Or, for more Web sites and SIBL's archival holdings, go to http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/financial/fs2.htm.                                               

Private companies:
When disclosure to the government is not required, because a company does not offer stock to the public, the problems for a researcher escalate. The following short list of sources may be useful. A wise researcher looking for data on a private company should access several sources, not just one, to avoid information gaps.

  • Dun & Bradstreet's Million Dollar Database: Available from Bobst’s Virtual Business Library, Company & Financial Information, under Company Profiles, at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/candf_info.html, the Million Dollar Database provides information on over 1,500,000 U.S. and Canadian leading public and private businesses with sales over $1 million. The International Million Dollar Database is not available from Bobst's Web site. 
  • Forbes 500 is available on the Web at: http://www.forbes.com. Largest Private Companies in the U.S., published by Forbes, is at BBL: Reference 338.74 F; the list of America's Largest Private Companies and the Forbes 400 Richest Americans list, among others, are both on the Web site. The latter can give you the net worth and some useful background information about wealthy citizens.
  • Hoover's Handbook of Private Companies: You can find Hoovers online at http://www.hoovers.com – "Company Capsules," news, industry and financials are free. As Bobst subscribes to Hoover’s Online: The Business Network, you will receive additional in-depth information on 14,000 public and private enterprises worldwide.

    The following Hoover's Handbooks are available in paper at Bobst:
    Hoover's Handbook of American Business, NYU Bobst REF6 HF5035 .H66
    Hoover's Handbook of Emerging Companies, NYU Bobst REF6 HG4057 .A28618
    Hoover's Handbook of World Business, NYU Bobst REF6 HF5030 .H662
  • Reference U.S.A.: An Internet subscription directory sold only to libraries, educational institutions and government agencies. It contains business data on about 12 million US businesses, and is available to you (on-site only) at SIBL and BBL. 
  • Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives: Bobst REF6 Index HG4057.A4 – Latest edition only. It is also available on Lexis. 
  • Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies: Bobst REF6 HG4057.A485 Non-circulating        

Wholly owned subsidiaries:
Although subsidiaries and divisions pose the same research problems as private companies, since a wholly-owned subsidiary of a public company is also a private company, there is a ray of hope: Information about the subsidiary or division will be included in the SEC filings of the public parent company. So, finding out "who owns whom" should become part of your company research, and the following sources will help.

  • LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations, also known as the Directory of Corporate Affiliations: Provides "the family tree of every major corporation in America." Available at Bobst REF6 HD4057.A219 and on Lexis, or by subscription. The company's Web site is: http://www.corporateaffiliations.com/dca/Content/index.html.  Also available on LexisNexis. 
  • Standard & Poor’s Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives: Bobst REF6 Index HG4057.A4 – Latest edition only. S&P has an index of subsidiaries and divisions, and of ultimate parent companies.                      

Current awareness sources for company research:
If you are looking for information about a small, privately held company, newspapers and business journals may be your only option.

From the NYU LL home page, click Indexes & Databases and scroll to the end, to Non-Legal Databases Available through Bobst Library. There you will see a list, of which the following may be useful for statistical or business research. Clicking on the topics takes you to an annotated description of the individual databases (click "[About]"):

Business & Finance Databases Health & Life Sciences Databases
General & Reference Databases News & Current Events Databases
Government Documents Databases Social Sciences Databases

The following databases also appear as links on the NYU LL Indexes & Databases for the Law School Community page, and contain resources specifically relevant to company research:

  • CCH Business and Finance Research Network: A powerful business and finance research tool. Click the database name for access. Contains databases in these subject areas:
     
    Banking Information Technology
    Capital Changes Products, Liability & Safety
    Federal Energy Guidelines Exchanges and SROs
    Securities Trade Regulation
    Government Contracts Transportation Law
    International Corporate Governance
     
  • Factiva: Permits you to browse 9,000 sources from 118 countries, including Dow Jones and Reuters newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
  • Ingenta (formerly UnCover): A collection of 17,035,457 articles from 28,828 academic and professional publications. Click Browse Publications; the Subject area drop-down menu takes you to a list of 15 categories, of which Economics and Business is most relevant. Clicking that topic takes you to this list:

    Business Finance
    Economics  Public Finance

    Clicking on these topics takes you to lists of news sources, working papers, associations, general resources on the topic, and more.
  • JSTOR: Contains business, economics, finance, population studies and statistics journals, and more.
  • National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Publications: Working papers, data, and more from the nation's leading nonprofit economic research organization.
  • Oxford Journals Online: "Oxford University Press publishes a wide range of highly-respected and internationally recognized economics, business and management journals. The titles include: Cambridge Journal of Economics; Industrial and Corporate Change; Journal of Economic Geography; Oxford Economic Papers; Review of Financial Studies; and the two World Bank Journals: World Bank Economic Review and World Bank Research Observer."
  • Wilson OmniFile: Full Text Mega Edition includes Wilson Business Full Text – indexing begins in 1982, abstracts begin in 1984, and full text of articles begin in 1994.
  • Proquest Direct contains the following (and much more):

    ABI/INFORM– Dateline: "...[L]ocal and regional business news coverage of large corporations, privately held companies, local start-ups, executive profiles, marketing, finance, and industry news." Provides information not typically found in the national press sources.

    ABI/INFORM– Global: Search nearly 1800 worldwide business periodicals for information on advertising, marketing, economics, human resources, finance, taxation, computers, and information on 60,000+ companies.

    ABI/INFORM– Trade & Industry: "Search more than 750 publications for trade and industry information... on every major industry, including finance, insurance, transportation, construction, and many more."

Click the Database drop-down menu to select.

More current awareness options are available to you from the Journal/Newspaper Articles link on Bobst’s NYU Virtual Business Library page, at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/index.html.                                                       

Court Statistics:

Federal Judicial Caseload Statistics is also known as Judicial Business of the United States Courts. The current edition is on NYU LL Reference, KF180 .A35x; older editions are in B1. This Web site: http://www.uscourts.gov/judbususc/judbus.html contains reports from 1997.

Statistical data on the activities of the federal judiciary are also available online at: http://www.uscourts.gov/statisticsalreports.html.                           

Criminal Statistics:

This section focuses on compilations of crime statistics, not on individuals' records. For that information, go to Public Records, Criminal records, infra.

Dennis C. Benamati, et al., Criminal Justice Information: How To Find It, How To Use It (Oryx Press, 1998), NYU LL, B1 HV 7419.5.C75 1998. Organizes the types and sources of criminal justice information, such as statistical reports, directories, agency and foundation reports, academic books and periodicals, documents available from professional organizations, and bibliographies, as well as the Internet databases that the authors considered to be the most reliable and authoritative.

Bureau of Justice Statistics Publications are listed at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pubalp2.htm; hyperlinks are provided to publications in electronic formats.

City Crime Rankings: Crime in Metropolitan America: 6th edition, 1999, Bobst REF6 Desk HV6787 .C57; NYU LL Reference has the 1995 edition.

The 1995 edition ranks crime data for the 100 largest cities in the US for which statistics were reported by the FBI in 1993.

Crime in America’s Top-Rated Cities: A Statistical Profile: NYU LL, B1 HV6787.C745x.

The 2000 volume contains statistics for the past 20 years in all major crime categories: violent crimes, property crimes, and total crime, as well as statistics on hate crimes, illegal drugs, correctional facilities, inmates and HIV/AIDS, death penalty, law enforcement personnel, gun laws, anti-crime programs, and the chances of becoming a victim; arranged by city.

Crime in the United States, 1995-2003 (also referred to as Uniform Crime Reports): "The Uniform Crime Reports give a nationwide view of crime based on statistics contributed by state and local law enforcement agencies." Available at: http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm. The site also links to Hate Crime Statistics (1995-2002), Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (1996-2002), the UCR Handbook, and the National Incident-Based Reporting System, in PDF format.

Uniform Crime Reports for the United States: NYU LL, Reference HV 6787.A3, earlier volumes in B1. This is the bound version of the Internet source supra; also available on CD-ROM at the Circulation Desk.

Criminal Justice Statistics for New York State: Contains statistics on crime and the response to crime for regions and counties within New York State by the Division of Criminal Justice Services at: http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/crimnet/data.htm.

Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics: The data are based on reports from law enforcement agencies of 12 states and cover 1991 through 1996. Available online from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/saycrle.htm.

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 2002, 30th ed., is available online from SUNY Albany, at: http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/ or at NYU LL Reference HV 7245.N37b; earlier editions in B1. The Sourcebook presents a broad spectrum of national criminal justice data.

Use and Management of Criminal History Record Information: A Comprehensive Report, 2001 Update: NYU LL, B1 HV8141 .U743 2001; available online at: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/umchri01.pdf.

From the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Describes the network of local, state, and federal information systems that provide criminal history records to criminal justice professionals and to members of the public.                             

Economic Data:

  • James T. McClave, et al, Statistics for Business and Economics, 8th ed. (2001). Bobst HF1017 .M36 2001
  • Research Guide: Economic Statistics (RG#53): Available from Bobst at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/guides/rg53.htm. Contains sources available in Bobst Library’s 6th floor business collection and links to online statistics sources. 
  • Richard Stutely, Guide to Economic Indicators: Making Sense of Economics, 5th ed., Bobst REF 6 HC 103 .F9 2003.
  • James B. Ramsey, The Elements of Statistics: With Applications to Economics and the Social Sciences, Bobst HA29 .R24 2002.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/. The BLS produces the Producer Price Index (PPI), which provides monthly data on changes in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services and are considered to be a measure of inflation; and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which provides monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. Other indexes: the CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U); the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W); and the Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U), which is designed to be closer to a "cost-of-living" index than the CPI-U and CPI-W. The CPI indexes are also considered inflationary indicators.

Cornelia J. Strawser, ed., Business Statistics of the United States: Patterns of Economic Change, 9th ed., 2004.                                        NYU LL B1 HC101 .A13122x

Most of its economic statistics cover the post-World War II period up to the present.

Cost of Living data: Provided – for a small fee – by the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, at http://www.accra.org.

EconLit: Covers national and international scholarly literature on economics from 1969. Topics covered include regional and urban economics; economic development, forecasting, and history; fiscal and monetary theory; and business and public finance. Available from the Economic & Statistical Information page in Bobst’s Virtual Business Library at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/eands_info.html.

Economic Indicators.gov: Available at http://www.economicindicators.gov/, from the Economics and Statistics Administration at the U.S. Department of Commerce. Provides timely access to the daily releases of key economic indicators from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau.

Economic Indicators 1995-2004: Available in PDF and ASCII text, at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/indicators/index.html. Prepared and published monthly for the Joint Economic Committee, by the Council of Economic Advisers.

Economic Report of the President Transmitted to the Congress: NYU LL, Reference HC106.5.A272 has the latest year; earlier years are in B1.

The Economic Report of the President is an annual report written by the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors that overviews the nation's economic progress. The latest report, and previous years’ Reports from 1995, in PDF format, are available on the Web, at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/eop/index.html.

U.S. Economic Census: Profiles the U.S. economy every 5 years; the last economic census was 1997. Data for 2002 will be collected in 2003 and published in 2004 and 2005; information is available on an annual, quarterly, or monthly basis. Available on the Internet at: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/recent.htm.      

Education Data:

ERIC: The Department of Education’s Educational Resources Information Center ("ERIC") may be accessed at: http://eric.ed.gov/.

The new ERIC online system, released September 2004, provides the public with a centralized ERIC Web site for searching the ERIC bibliographic database of more than 1.1 million citations going back to 1966. Effective October 1, more than 107,000 full-text non-journal documents (issued 1993-2004), previously available through fee-based services only, will be available for free.

Current Index to Journals in Education, 1969 to present: Bobst REF6 Z5813 .C8; and Resources in Education, 1968 to present: Bobst LB1028.A1 R461.

Print counterparts to ERIC. Copies of ERIC documents are available on microfiche in Bobst's Microform Center, Level A.                   

Employment Data:

Federal Employment Statistics: from the Office of Personnel Management's Fedscope database, at http://www.opm.gov/feddata/index.asp. The Office of Workforce Information and Planning Group in the OPM is the authoritative source for statistical information on the size and composition of the Federal civilian workforce. The primary source is the Central Personnel Data File, maintained by OPM.

Bureau of Labor Statistics: BLS, at http://www.bls.gov/, provides the definitive federal, state and local employment and unemployment data.

Environmental Compliance Data:

Enforcement and Compliance History Online ("ECHO"): Available at: http://www.epa.gov/echo/. ECHO is a Web tool developed and maintained by the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) for public use. The ECHO Web site, publicly accessible and EPA-maintained, provides compliance and enforcement information for approximately 800,000 regulated facilities nationwide.

Corporate Environmental Litigation: Publicly traded companies must file a form 10-Q and disclose material legal proceedings that are pending, especially when civil rights or environmental statutes are involved. You can find this information on EDGAR, from the SEC’s Web site, http://www.sec.gov/.

Financial Information:

  • Subject Guide on Personal Investment Resources: From BBL’s home page at: http://www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/ click Business Resources; Subject Guides; Finance and Personal Investment. Describes resources available in their collection or available remotely via a BPL library card barcode number.

Under Financial Information & Filings, in Bobst’s Virtual Reference Library, Company & Financial Information, at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/candf_info.html, you will find a selection of databases that includes Bloomberg (current and historical data on equities, bonds, economics, analysis, and more, as well as current news); Morningstar (for research on stocks or mutual funds); and Datastream (an online database providing data on the financial markets of the world). NB: Databases with this symbol:  are available only in Bobst.

Financial Services Information Sources at SIBL: Go to: http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/financial/fs1.htm for:

annual reports & 10Ks new issues
bond data obsolete stock
company financial data real estate investment trusts
depository receipts stock data
dividend reinvestment plans stock market indexes
foreign companies stock prices
industry data ticker symbols
insurance ratings variable annuities
mutual funds historical market data
MergentOnline: Formerly known as FISonline, and also called the FIS Mergent database.  From Moody's Financial Information Services. Contains all SEC (EDGAR) filings and domestic and international annual reports. Available from Bobst’s Virtual Business Library, Company & Financial Information , under Financial Information & Filings, and available onsite at SIBL and offsite from BBL, if you use the bar code on your BPL library card. BBL also offers a "virtual walking tour" of the database, at: http://www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/index.cfm/bay/content.tutorials.htm .

Moody’s Complete Corporate Index: Bobst REF6 HG4961.M66, non-circulating volumes: 2001/2002.

This is the volume you will consult to learn which of the many Moody’s (or Mergent Moody's as they are now called) Manuals you need to consult – such as the Moody’s Industrial Manual, the Moody’s Bank and Finance Manual, the Moody’s OTC Industrial Manual, etc.; all of these, and many more, are available at Bobst Library.                 

Foreign & International Statistical and Business Information:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides Foreign Labor Statistics, at: http://www.bls.gov/fls/home.htm, as well as international comparisons of hourly compensation costs, productivity and unit labor costs, labor force, employment and unemployment rates, and consumer price indexes. Its Import/Export Price Indexes link, http://www.bls.gov/mxp/home.htm, contains data on changes in the prices of nonmilitary goods and services traded between the U.S. and the rest of the world.

EIU Country Commerce: Country Commerce, a publication of the Economist Intelligence Unit, outlines the business regulations of 60 countries and the European Union. It includes the rules on foreign investment, financing sources and techniques, M & A procedures and restrictions, competition and more. Click on the name, or link to EIU from NYU LL’s Indexes & Databases page, under Finding Legal & Governmental Resources. Country Finance, Country Profile, Country Report, and other EIU publications, are also available.

European Voice: "An online weekly newspaper which reports and analyzes the activities of the Commission, Parliament and Council of Ministers and also covers European business and industry news." Click on the name, or go to Indexes & Databases under Finding Legal & Governmental Resources.

Eurostat: The European Communities’ official statistical office. Provides direct access to the latest and most complete statistical information available on the EU, the EU Member States, the euro-zone and other countries. Click on the name; it is also available from the Foreign & Int’l. Databases link on the library home page. Go to European Union, European Commission.

Foreign Government Documents: Northwestern University Library provides a list of country names that link to official government portals or homepages; links listed below the country names go to legislative and executive branch institutions. Available at: http://www.library.northwestern.edu/govpub/resource/internat/foreign.html.

Statistical Resources on the Web: Foreign Government Data Sources: Available from the University of Michigan, at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html; click Foreign Governments.

International Statistical Agencies: From the US Census Bureau. Links to the Web sites of foreign statistical agencies and several international statistical agencies are posted at: http://www.census.gov/main/www/stat_int.html.

Government Information on the Internet (Bernan): Bernan is the largest private distributor of US GPO documents; the database also includes documents from the United Nations, the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, UNESCO, and the Food and Agriculture Organization. Click on the name or link to it from Indexes & Databases, under Finding Legal & Governmental Resources.

International Monetary Fund: The IMF is on the Web at: http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm. The site contains financial information on its 184 member states; click Financial Data by Country.

International Statistical Yearbooks: Include summaries of basic statistics on a country's land, population, economy, society, education, culture, and other areas of interest. Available from SIBL at: http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/yearbook/yearmain.htm.

ISI Emerging Markets: Internet Securities, Inc., provides company and industry information, financial market data, and macroeconomic analysis for emerging markets. Content includes full-text news articles, financial statements, company information, industry analyses, equity quotes, macroeconomic statistics, and market-specific information. Click on the name or link from Indexes & Databases.

SourceOECD: The online library for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's 30 member nations is available from Indexes & Databases, or click on the name. Includes statistical database sets such as the Economic Outlook Database, Globalization, International Trade by Commodities Statistics, and many more. Data can be exported in a variety of formats, including Excel.

The United Nations Statistics Division compiles and disseminates international statistical data at: http://unstats.un.org/unsd/.

World Bank: On the Web at: http://www.worldbank.org/. The World Bank is one of the UN's specialized agencies and is made up of 184 member countries. It is one of the world's largest sources of assistance to developing nations.  Click Data & Statistics on the left for World Development Indicators 2004, selections from Global Development Finance 2004 ("the World Bank's comprehensive annual compilation of data on external debt and financial flows"), and more. NB: the complete, bound volumes of Global Development Finance 2004 (from 1997) are in B1 at HJ8899.W672, as are other publications not available on the Web.

World Trade Online: Contains latest issue of Inside U.S. Trade as well as an archive of issues back to 1993. Password required. Click on the name or connect to it from the Indexes & Databases page.

Government Data, Generally:

Almost 1300 U.S. libraries, including many law libraries, are "government depositories," to which the Government Printing Office distributes information from all three branches of government through the Federal Depository Library Program. The public has free access to this information, which is increasingly – but not comprehensively, or exclusively – available over the Internet. Information about the Depository Library Program may be found at this Web site: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fdlp.html.

These are the major U.S. Federal statistical agencies:

Bureau of Economic Analysis Economic Research Service
Bureau of Justice Statistics Energy Information Administration
Bureau of Labor Statistics National Agricultural Statistics Service
Bureau of Transportation Statistics National Center for Education Statistics
Census Bureau National Center for Health Statistics
For a more complete list of Federal Agencies with Statistical Programs , from FedStats, with links to their key statistics, go to: http://www.fedstats.gov/agencies/index.html .

The Research Guides that follow include several bound sources about using government information.

  • Joe Morehead, Introduction to United States Government Information Sources, 6th ed., NYU LL Reference ZA5055.U6 M67 1999.
  • Research Assistance from Bobst: U.S. Government Documents (RG#23): A Bobst guide, available at: http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/guides/rg23.htm.
  • Research Guide: Statistics & Data Resources: Available from Bobst Library at: http://library.nyu.edu/research/govdocs/statdat.html, this guide presents a brief selection of tools for finding statistics and data files, some useful resources to assist you in understanding and interpreting statistics, and annotated links to agency Web sites.
  • Judith Schiek Robinson, Tapping the Government Grapevine: The User Friendly Guide to U.S. Government Information Sources, 3rd ed., NYU LL Reference ZA5055.U6 R63 1998.
  • United States Government Documents Depository Research Guide:  Available here or link to it from Research Guides on the Law Library home page.
  • Jean L. Sears and Marilyn K. Moody, Using Government Information Sources: Electronic and Print, 3rd ed., Bobst REF6, Z1223.Z7 S4 2001. Non-circulating.

American Statistics Index ("ASI"): "A comprehensive guide and index to the statistical publications of the U.S. Government." Bobst REF6 Index Z7554.U5 A46 1974-

Government Information on the Internet (Bernan): The "largest private distributor of U.S. government publications." Link from NYU LL's Indexes and Databases page.

FedStats has links to statistical data from over 100 U.S. Government agency Web sites at: http://www.fedstats.gov. This service is especially useful if it is not intuitively obvious to you which government agency will have the statistics you need.

LexisNexis Statistical (formerly CIS Statistical Universe): A comprehensive source for indexes and abstracts of statistics from the federal government, major international intergovernmental organizations, professional and trade organizations, commercial publishers, independent research organizations, state government agencies and universities, issued since the 1960's. Search for statistics on specific industries by using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code numbers (see infra, Industry Data) as keywords. Click the database name above, or link to it from NYU LL’s Indexes & Databases page.

Statistical Reference Index: "A selective guide to American statistical publications from sources other than the U.S. Government." Bobst REF6 Index Z7554.U5 S85 1- 1980- .

Stat-USA: STAT-USA is an agency in the Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. It delivers vital economic, business, and international trade information produced by the U.S. Government. This is a subscription database; click on the name or access it from the Indexes & Databases page. Stat-USA has two components: State of the Nation, for current and historical economic and financial releases and economic data; and GLOBUS & NTDB, for current and historical trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, country analysis, and the National Trade Data Bank (NTDB).

Statistical Resources on the Web from the University of Michigan; links to statistical sources are at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/stats.html. Sources are listed under 24 broad subjects, and then subdivided further into annotated databases, most of which are accessible to the public:

Agriculture  Energy Housing 
Business & Industry Environment  Labor 
Comprehensive Subjects Finance & Currency Military
Consumers Foreign Economics Politics
Cost of Living Foreign Governments Science 
Demographics Foreign Trade Sociology 
Economics Government Finances -
US, State, Local		 Transportation 
Education Health  Weather


Industry Data:

An industry is a group of establishments primarily engaged in producing or handling the same product or group of products or in rendering the same services. Since the 1930's, the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system has classified the data collected by government agencies by industry type. The SIC system classified each establishment (defined as a single physical location at which economic activity occurs) according to its primary activity. The SIC system can be searched here, by SIC code or keyword: http://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/sicsearch.html.

However, with changes in the makeup of the US economy, the enactment of NAFTA, and despite significant revisions, the SIC system gradually became obsolete. The completely revised North American Industry Classification System (NAICS; say "nakes") has replaced the SIC system, and is available on the Web at: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html. NAICS includes Canada and Mexico, to provide comparability in statistics about business activity across North America. NAICS is also available in a bound volume at Bobst Library’s 6th floor reference desk, call number: US Docs PREX 2.6/4:2002/CLOTH.

Industry Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is available at: http://www.bls.gov/. The detailed statistical information available on this page includes these links under Industries:

The Industries at a Glance link takes you to profiles of twelve industry supersectors. They are:

  • Construction
  • Education & Health Services
  • Financial Activities
  • Government
  • Information
  • Leisure & Hospitality
  • Manufacturing
  • Natural Resources & Mining
  • Other Services
  • Professional & Business Services
  • Transportation & Utilities
  • Wholesale & Retail Trade

The Employment, Hours, and Earnings link contains the Current Employment Statistics survey of payroll records, which covers over 300,000 businesses on a monthly basis and provides detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of nonfarm workers.

The Occupations link contains the May 2003 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.

The Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities link provides data on work- related illnesses and injuries, and data on worker fatalities.

The Producer Price Indexes program measures the average change over time in the selling prices received by domestic producers for their output.

The Employment Costs link takes you to the National Compensation Survey - Compensation Cost Trends which produces quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs and annual data measuring the level of average costs per hour worked.

The Productivity link includes the Major Sector Productivity and Costs program, which produces quarterly and annual output per hour and unit labor costs for the U.S. business, nonfarm business, and manufacturing sectors; and the Industry Productivity and Costs program, which publishes annual measures of output per hour and unit labor costs for many industries in the US.

Ebsco Business Source Premier:  Provides full text for more than 7,400 scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for nearly 1,100 peer-reviewed business publications, and full text (PDF) for more than 350 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. Click on the name; Ebsco is also available from Bobst's Virtual Business Library, Industry Information, at http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/industry_info.html.

Encyclopedia of Associations: NYU LL, Reference AS22 .E5, for latest edition; Reserve for previous edition; for online edition from Bobst Library, click the source name.

Gives contact information for organizations arranged by name and by subject area, and lists the publications of the associations it includes, which are often a productive way to begin researching an industry.

Encyclopedia of Associations: International Organizations: NYU LL, Reserve NYUL K14 E62 I6; for online edition from Bobst Library, click the source name.

Remember that associations keep track of industry data for their members and may have valuable information on an industry that would not be found in standard business sources. Organizations are described briefly, with names, addresses, and telephone numbers.

Factiva (formerlyDow Jones Interactive): Click the database name, or link to it from the NYU LL Indexes & Databases page, or from Bobst’s Virtual Business Library, http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/vbl/jn_art.html.

Provides access to leading business newspapers, news magazines and newswires; links to essential corporate, government, and industry Web sites; and enables you to find company, industry, country and market research reports.

Investext Plus: Click the source name, or, from the NYU LL home page, click Indexes & Databases, Non-Legal Databases Available through Bobst Library, Business & Finance Databases, and scroll to Investext.

Contains investment reports prepared by Wall Street and international brokerage firms for industries and publicly held companies in the US and elsewhere. Search by company name, ticker symbol, industry group, or keyword.

Reference USA: Available onsite at either SIBL or BBL.

A subscription database that contains detailed directory information on more than 12 million U.S. businesses, and over 100 million residential listings.

Standard and Poor's directories: Many of the S&P directories, including the Statistical Service (Bobst REF6 HG4921.S75), which provides historical statistics in the Basic Statistics volume and current statistics for the past three years in the Current Statistics volume, published monthly; each monthly issue supersedes the previous month's issue; contains production statistics and detailed statistics on hourly earnings by an industry; the Five Hundred Directory (Bobst REF6 HG4057.S12), which "contains a representative sample of common stocks ... and ... has many relatively small companies in it ... constructed by industry groups," and the Industry Surveys, are available at Bobst Library's 6th floor reference desk.

Mergent's Industry Review: Bobst REF6 HG4961 .M88

Current trends & economic conditions & forecasts are provided, as well as historical data.

Value Line Investment Survey: Bobst REF6 HG4501.V26. Electronic access to the Value Line Research Center is also available from Bobst; click source name.

The electronic version has an industry lookup feature on the left of the Web page, with industry commentaries in PDF, and industry rankings.

Medical Research & Data:

The focus in this section is on disease statistics, drug information, and secondary sources of medical literature, not on accessing an individual’s medical records. According to the Sourcebook to Public Record Information, NYU LL Reference KF5753 .S68x 1999, cited infra in the public records section, medical records are neither public nor closed. They are not meant to be shared, unless the individual consents to their release.

Physical & Life Sciences/Coles Center is on Bobst Library’s 9th floor. 212-998-2626

The ninth floor reference center answers questions and provides services for the physical and life sciences.

Several other medical libraries are available to you locally.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Levy Library, Annenberg Bldg., 11th floor, on the Web at: http://www.mssm.edu/library/
1 Gustave L. Levy Place
New York, N.Y. 10029
(212) 241-6671

The Levy Library's catalog WebCat is available here: http://levy.library.mssm.edu/uhtbin/cgisirsi/gSukSe7Pw2/162480018/60/1173/X.

NYU School of Medicine's Frederick L. Ehrman Medical Library, on the Web at: http://hsl.med.nyu.edu/ 
550 First Avenue, at East 31st Street
New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-5397

HSLCat, at: http://hslcat.med.nyu.edu/, is the online catalog of NYU's Health Science Libraries: Ehrman Medical Library, the Ehrman Environmental Medicine Library, Waldmann Dental Library, NYU Downtown Hospital Medical Library, the Herman Robbins Medical LIbrary of the Hospital for Joint Diseases, and the Patient and Family Resource Center.

BioMed Central: Available from HSLCat, BioMed Central is an independent publisher in London, England, that provides access to biomedical research publications. These publications include biology and medicine journal articles, current reports, and meeting abstracts. BioMed Central offers information about current controlled trials, as well as topics in modern biology.

Center for Drug Evaluation and Research ("CDER"): Go to: http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/default.htm for information about products regulated by the FDA, including an alphabetical listing of all prescription and over-the-counter drugs approved from 1998 through 2003.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ("DSM-IV"): Most recent edition at NYU LL, Reference RC455.2.C4 D54 2000.

Specifies diagnostic criteria for the mental disorders included; a classic source produced by the American Psychiatric Association.

FDA: The agency's Website, http://www.fda.gov/, has information on the products the FDA regulates – such as cosmetics, radiation-emitting products, animal feed and medications, biologics (drugs derived from living sources), and medical devices.

Attorney's Illustrated Medical Dictionary, NYU LL, B1 R121.A88 1997, would be a good place to familiarize yourself with medical terminology. An online medical dictionary is available on Medline Plus, from the NIH, at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mplusdictionary.html. Medline Plus also posts the A.D.A.M. Health Illustrated Encyclopedia at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/encyclopedia.html, with over 4,000 articles about diseases, tests, symptoms, injuries, and surgeries and an extensive library of medical photographs and illustrations.

Ingenta (formerly UnCover): Search 17,447,102 articles, chapters, reports and more from academic and professional publications.

Medline is available from the NIH at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/. You will also find two links to it on Bobst Library’s Health & Life Sciences Databases page, one via PubMed and the other, 1966 to present, via OVID. It is also on LexisNexis and Westlaw.

A product of the National Library of Medicine, the world's largest medical library, Medline is the premier source for bibliographic and abstract coverage of biomedical literature and includes information in the areas of allied health, physical therapy, health education, biological and physical sciences, humanities and information science as they relate to medicine and health care, communication disorders, population biology, and reproductive biology.

However, as the medical research guide cited earlier in this section states, "not all MEDLINE sites are the same. Some do not cover the entire MEDLINE database; some do not offer all MEDLINE search features." If you don’t find the information you need, another database may be called for, and that article - at http://www.llrx.com/features/medical2001.htm - neatly annotates the possibilities.

National Center for Health Statistics, at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/, within the Center for Disease Control, is the nation’s principal health statistics agency; click FASTATS A to Z on the left for statistics and links to additional sources of information.

National Institutes of Health, at: http://www.nih.gov.

NIH is one of the agencies of the Public Health Services which, in turn, is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is comprised of 27 separate components, annotated and listed at: http://www.nih.gov/icd/. This site, http://health.nih.gov/, provides information on specific health topics; this site, http://www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/alerts/clinical_alerts.html, lets you access NIH Clinical Alerts and Advisories.

Physicians Desk Reference ("PDR"): The most recent edition is at NYU LL, Reference RS75.P5. 

Over 3500 pages of information on thousands of prescription drugs; includes a Product Identification Guide, if all you know about a medication is what it looks like.

Online prescription drug information can be obtained from MEDLINEplus at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html or from RxList ("The Internet Drug Index") at: http://www.rxlist.com/.

Public Records:

Only federal and New York State materials – via the Internet or in paper sources – are discussed in this section. Other states’ materials may be accessed from their Web pages using this formula, http://www.state.[XX].us, using a state's postal abbreviation. In addition, Lexis has a State Public Records library with materials such as bankruptcy filings, corporation records, UCC lien filings, real property and mortgage records, motor vehicle registrations, professional licenses, voter registrations, and more; what is available varies from state to state. Westlaw folds public records into individual state databases. This section identifies some types of public records and describes how to find them in NY.

A number of federal laws influence public records research, such as the Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act, discussed infra. Or, if you are researching background information for employment purposes, the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., requires that the applicant must authorize in writing the disclosure of credit reports to the potential employer; applicants who are denied employment are entitled to see the report and must be given a chance to rebut the information it contains. Of course, the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, and regulations at 28 C.F.R. Part 16 (2004), applies to federal records that are not otherwise readily available; the states have their own public access laws. The Department of Justice makes available a list of FOIA contacts at federal agencies on this page: http://www.usdoj.gov/04foia/foiacontacts.htm (last updated 10/20/04).

The Sourcebook to Public Record Information: The Comprehensive Guide to County, State, and Federal Public Record Sources (1999), NYU LL, Reference KF5753.S68x 1999

A very good place to start your research in this area. A valuable resource, it first discusses the classes of public records and gives a general overview of the process of retrieving them. Then it is organized into individual state chapters that give each state’s public record agencies, licensing and regulatory boards, federal courts, county courts, county recorder offices, city/county cross references and ZIP code/city cross references.

Search Systems has a directory of (mostly) free, searchable Public Records Databases at this Web site: http://www.searchsystems.net/. It includes the states, Canada, the territories, and limited information on the rest of the world.

Bankruptcy:
Records are available from federal district courthouses, as fully open court records. To find the courthouses themselves, use a directory such as Want's Federal-State Court Directory, NYU LL, Reference KF8700.A19 F42 (most recent; older issues in B1), or BNA's Directory of State Courts, Judges and Clerks, NYU LL, Reference KF8700.A19 K56 (most recent 2 years).

Criminal records:
In New York, access to criminal records is restricted. The NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, http://criminaljustice.state.ny.us/, which provides NY criminal justice data and links to city, state, and federal criminal justice agencies on its Web site, will not provide you with another individual’s criminal history. It does, however, give instructions on how to obtain and review ones own criminal history record for personal use.

  • Lynn Peterson, Navigating the Maze of Criminal Records Retrieval - Updated, published June 1, 2001, available at: http://www.llrx.com/features/criminal2.htm. A useful place to begin your research, as this article outlines some practical approaches to finding criminal records and some of the legal limitations placed on their use.

Incorporation in NY:
As in most states, corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships in New York must file certificates or incorporation documents with the Department of State. These documents contain basic directory-type facts as well as more detailed information on the internal operation of the company. The information is public, though you may be charged a small fee to retrieve it. Go to http://www.state.NY.us/, then to Government Agencies in NY, State Government, then to State, Department of, and click Corporations/UCC to search online for certain active licenses/registrations; or click Search Our Corporation/Business Entity Database, at http://appsext5.dos.state.ny.us/corp_public/enter_search. The online database includes business and not-for-profit corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships.

This article, Business Filings Databases - Updated, by Kathy Biehl, published April 26, 2004, available at: http://www.llrx.com/columns/roundup29.htm, gives links to other states' Web sites for corporate and business filings.     

Motor vehicle records:
The federal Drivers’ Privacy Protection Act, 18 USCS § 2721 et seq., requires a "permissible use" for a researcher to receive Department of Motor Vehicles records that contain personal information. Form MV-15, Request for Driver and/or Vehicle Record Information, available at:  http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/form-pub.htm, lists permissible uses for requested material under the DPPA on page 4.

Forms for requesting driver and vehicle records are available from the Department of Motor Vehicles, at: http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/abstract.htm.

  • Accident Reports: In NYS, some motor vehicle accident, criminal, and highway safety statistics are available from the Department of Motor Vehicles Web site, at: http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/stats.htm. The most recent year is 2001.

    Use Form MV-198C (Request for Copy of Accident Report), to request copies of accident reports filed by the police or a motorist. Click on the form name for a PDF; it is also posted on the DMV’s Web page, at http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/forms.htm. A DPPA permissible use must be shown in order to receive the information.
  • Driver History: The National Driver Register (NDR), from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is a computer database that lists drivers with revoked or suspended driver licenses, or who have been convicted of serious traffic violations.  Information from the NDR is also subject to the DPPA. This page: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/perform/driver/, tells how and under what circumstances information can be retrieved from the database, and lists all 50 states’ motor vehicle agencies and their addresses and telephone numbers. Form NDR-1 to request NDR information is posted on the DMV’s Web page, at http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/forms.htm, in PDF.
  • Vehicle Ownership & Identification: Form MV-15 (Request for Driver and/or Vehicle Record Information) is used for requesting NYS driver abstracts, vehicle registration abstracts, and title abstracts, and may be downloaded from the Web here, click on the form name, or go to http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/forms.htm.

Professional licensing records:
The valuation of professional licenses can be important in divorce proceedings as well as for simple protection against imposters; much – though not all – licensing occurs at the state level. For example, the New York State Unified Court System, http://www.courts.state.ny.us/, has an attorney directory on its Web site, as does the NYS Office of Court Administration. County recording offices and city halls may also be able to tell you what type of license or registration is required for the individual or profession you seek.

The NYS Education Department’s Office of the Professions is an important licensing agency, and has a searchable database available on the Web, at: http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm.

The NYS Department of Labor's Web site contains a list entitled New York State Agencies and the Occupations They License at: http://www.labor.state.ny.us/business_ny/employer_responsibilities/olcny/
agencies.htm.                                

Uniform commercial code filings:
UCC information is important to any business or financial institution contemplating entering into a lien transaction as a secured party providing funds or collateral. Data may be found at both the state or the county level, but for the majority of states, the central filing office is the Secretary of State. In NY, go to http://www.dos.state.ny.us/corp/corpwww.html for more information. Click UCC Search to access the Public Inquiry System and search the complete UCC database, including financing statements and their amendments, and notices of federal tax liens. A NYS Standard Debtor Search provides the same results as an "official" search by their office; a Filing Number and Date search provides an image of a filing (search by file number and year); the third type of search provides the ability to search by individual or business name.              

Vital records:
In New York State:
Access to vital records is often restricted, at least when you are requesting information on living people. For example, divorce records are available to the parties themselves and to others only by NYS Court Order. Information about obtaining birth, death, marriage and divorce records is on the Web from the NYS Department of Health, at: http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/consumer/vr.htm. The Vital Records Office provides eligible applicants with copies of birth and death certificates for births and deaths in New York State outside of New York City (1881-present), marriage licenses obtained in New York State outside of New York City (1880-present) and dissolution of marriage certificates for all of New York State (1963-present), under certain circumstances. The Web site will not give you the information itself but will tell you how to apply for it.

In New York City:
Indexes for these NYC vital records:

Births, 1888-1982
Deaths, 1888-1982
Marriages (Grooms), 1888-1937
Marriages (Brides), 1866-1937,

that enable a researcher to obtain copies of the records from the City Hall Library or the NYC Department of Health, are available at the Milstein Division of United States History, Local History and Genealogy of the New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd St, on the Web at: http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/lhg/genea.html. Click on Genealogical Research, New York City Vital Records Indexes for more information.

Copies of the certificates are held as follows:

For births in the five boroughs before 1910, deaths prior to 1949, and marriages prior to 1930, apply at the City Hall Library, formerly known as the Municipal Archives, Room 112, 31 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007; it is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional information, including the date ranges of records held, is available at:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/records/html/vitalrecords/home.shtml.

For birth certificates since 1910, and death certificates since 1949, apply at the Office of Vital Records, NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, 125 Worth Street, New York, NY 10013. More information can be found on their Website:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vr/vr.html.

Marriage records from 1996 to present can be obtained in person from any of the offices of the NYC Marriage Bureau. Marriage records from 1930 to 1995 can be obtained solely in the Manhattan Office. Go to this Web site: http://nycmarriagebureau.com/about/agency_overview.html  for more information. 

This site: http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/pdf/vs/2000sum.pdf contains a 57-page document entitled Summary of Vital Statistics 2000: The City of New York, some relatively current and some back to the late nineteenth century.

In the rest of the country:
The National Center for Health Statistics is the nation's principal health statistics agency. From their Web site, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/about.htm, click Vital Statistics on the left. The National Vital Statistics System, available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss.htm, is responsible for the Nation's official vital statistics, which are provided by the states, 2 cities, and 5 territories. Vital Statistics of the United States is a series of annual reports containing natality, mortality, marriages and divorces. Historical Volumes, 1890-1936, bound volumes, 1900-1993, and Part I, Natality, from 1994-99, are at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/vsus/vsus.htm in PDF. This site, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/howto/w2w/w2welcom.htm, has a list of where to write for vital records in all states.

The Social Security Death Index contains a listing of everyone who had a Social Security number and whose death was reported to the Social Security Administration. The information in the Death Index for people who died prior to 1962 is sketchy since the SSA's death information was not automated before that date. If you find a person in the Death Index you will learn the date of birth and Social Security Number for that person. It is available online from a variety of commercial services, such as RootsWeb.com, at: http://ssdi.genealogy.rootsweb.com/, and others, which you can find by google-ing "social security death index." Usually the search is free but registration may be required.

However, the Social Security Administration itself does not publish the Index for public use and you will not find it on the agency Web page. The SSDI is also available on Westlaw (database "DEATH"). LexisNexis has death records from 6 states in its Public Records library.                                  

Statistics and Law:

Federal Judicial Center, Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 2d ed., NYU LL B1 KF8961 .R45 2000

Largely a primer on the applications of statistical methods designed to assist federal judges with cases that involve complex technical evidence.

Saks, et al., Annotated Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence, 2d, NYU LL, B1 KF8961 .R448 2004

Intended to supplement and expand upon the 2000 edition of the Federal Judicial Center's Reference manual on scientific evidence.

Finkelstein & Levin, Statistics for Lawyers, 2d ed., NYU LL, B1 QA276.12 .F56 2001

Each chapter begins with some explanatory material, followed by a series of hypothetical problems, many derived from actual cases that relied on statistics, and questions based on the hypotheticals. The answers are provided in an appendix.

Joseph L. Gastwirth, ed., Statistical Science in the Courtroom, NYU LL, B1 K5485.S82 2000.

The articles’ authors wrote about cases in which they were experts, or about how their interest in the use of statistical evidence in legal cases influenced their research. Discrimination, product liability, toxic torts, and DNA evidence are some of the topics addressed in this work, as they tend to rely heavily on statistics. The editor is a professor of statistics and economics at George Washington University and co-author of an article entitled "Criminology: Statistical Aspects of Cases Concerning Racial Discrimination in Drug Sentencing: Stephens v. State and U.S. v. Armstrong," in 87 Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 583 (1997), that discusses the use of statistical evidence in the context of racial discrimination.                               

Statistics Research, Generally:

LexisNexis Statistical: The Search Tables form searches the words that appear in statistical tables. It also searches the table titles, as well as subject descriptors and synonyms assigned to each table by LexisNexis™ indexers. The Search Abstracts form searches LexisNexis™ indexing and abstracting of thousands of statistical reports and articles. For access, click the database name or link to it from Indexes & Databases.

TRAC, the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, is a data gathering, data research and data distribution organization associated with Syracuse University. It is available from the library's Indexes & Databases page, or click on the name. TRAC was established in 1989 to make federal government records available and comprehensible to the public by processing vast amounts of data retrieved largely through FOIA requests. TRAC provides "a source for comprehensive, independent and nonpartisan information about federal enforcement, staffing and spending."

Bar Exam Information: For the NYS Board of Bar Examiners, go to: http://www.nybarexam.org/; other states' information can be obtained from http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/barexam.htm.

For the ABA’s Comprehensive Guide to Bar Admission Requirements, 2003 Edition, in PDF, go to: http://www.abanet.org/legaled/publications/compguide/compguide.html

The ABA also collects statistics on legal education, at http://www.abanet.org/legaled/statistics/stats.html                                                           

Weather Data:

National Climatic Data Center, "The World’s Largest Archive of Weather Data," within NOAA; available at: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration ("NOAA"): http://www.noaa.gov offers weather data, climate information, navigation charts, coastal and oceanographic data including tides and currents, satellite images and data, statistics on the economics of fisheries, etc.

                                                             

Prepared by Deborah Paulus-Jagric, Reference Librarian, New York University Law School Library

This page was updated April 15, 2008

 

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