July 16, 2009, Vol. 3, Issue 11

Vast amounts of data are collected by various government entities, much of which is freely available to the public. And more still is said to be coming, prompted by initiatives backed by the current administration. Knowing how to tap into it could save you boatloads of time – and we all need to save time, right

Today, we explore some lesser known government resources. Later this summer, we’ll look at some ways to more deeply mine some resources you may have used before. (And we may throw in some new ones, too!)

Trust us, you’re going to need this stuff one day!

Trademarks

Before you make that naming recommendation, take a look at The Trademark Checklist. The site has other databases, as well. A great one is Country Guides: Basic Information on Trademark Registration Worldwide, a searchable database of basic information on trademark filing, prosecution, registration, maintenance and enforcement in more than 90 jurisdictions.

And of course, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the official U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the only official site for trademark and patent info. The Mumbo-Jumbo section (ostensibly for kids) is a great way to learn the basics!

Transportation

Vroom. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics Pocket Guide – chocked full of… you guessed it… transportation statistics.

Did you know there were 26,000 miles of navigable waterway channels in the U.S.? 46,893 miles of interstate highway? Prohibited items intercepted at U.S. airport screening checkpoints stats, households by number of vehicles, container port stats, land border crossings, and more are in this guide. Something in here will fascinate you – and hopefully be useful, as well.

Agriculture

Economic Research Service of the USDA has datasets for State Facts, Food Availability (Per Capita) Data System, Feed Grains,
Agricultural Outlook Statistical Indicators, Aquaculture Data, U.S. Agricultural Trade Data Update, Livestock and Meat Trade Data and a heckofa lot more!

Public Service Announcement

At BlogPotomac last month, I learned about DC Central Kitchen. The Kitchen is founded on the premise that when fighting poverty, one must fight to win by using every resource available. They are not just a ’soup kitchen’ for sure. They recycle surplus food, run a Culinary Job Training program for once homeless and hungry individuals equipping them with professional and life skills.

And that got me to thinking. What do many of us know about homelessness? So for some summer enrichment, check out the National Coalition of Homelessness‘ factsheets and HUD’s informative site.