[76117,1133] Lib:14 CHEAP.DBS/Asc Bytes: 6260, Count: 43, 18-Jun-92 Title : List of low cost databases and online sources Keywords: LOW COST DATABASES CHEAP BBS SAVE MONEY RESEARCH CAJ List of cheap on-line sources prepared for a meeting of Florida news librarians and researchers, directed toward those who very rarely or never deal with electronic sources. File CHEAP.DBS, 6260 Bytes, Lib 14 Capture Buffer Transfer No error detection/correction Opening capture buffer... TEN FOR $10 ST. PETERSBURG TIMES RESEARCHERS' TOP TEN BLUE-LIGHT, BARGAIN-BASEMENT, UNDER-$10-PER SEARCH, ON-LINE SOURCES 1. Florida driver's license/motor vehicle records Why: To get name, driver's license number, etc. of owner of car, etc., when you know the tag number; with driver's license number it's then possible to get owner's date of birth, address, race, height and sometimes the Social Security number. Cost per search: $2.75 ($55 per hour) Accompanying microfiche records are not necessary, but very valuable (driver's license fiche, about $230 annually; motor vehicle fiche, about $185 quarterly.) They make it possible to begin with just a person's name to get all of the above information. Vendor: Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles through CompuServe Contact: Subscribe to CompuServe, (800) 848-8199, then contact Dept. of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, (904) 488-2454 2. Florida corporate records Why: To find corporations, connect names with corporations, check fictitious names of companies, find debtors and secured parties in Uniform Commercial Code filings, and fictitious names/real names of corporations. Cost per search: $1.20 ($24 per hour) Vendor: Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations through CompuServe Contact: Subscribe to CompuServe, then contact Florida State Data Center, (904) 487-6866 3. National Library of Medicine using Grateful Med software Why: To get citations and, in most cases, abstracts to over 3,500 medical journals dating back more than 20 years; information on effects of drugs and other chemicals; chemical dictionary with over 800,000 listings; directory of more than 15,000 organizations serving as information resource centers. Grateful Med is designed to make it easy to search NLM by making formulation of the search simple (this process is performed off-line), calling the NLM computer for you, running the search, disconnecting from the computer, displaying results and walking you through the printing process. Knowledge of medical terminology, while helpful, is not required. Cost per search: $2.50 for journal citations ($6.10-$8.85 per hour depending on time of day, plus miscellaneous other minor charges); $29.95 for Grateful Med software. A $40 practice time credit is given when you sign up. Vendor: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Library of Medicine Contact: (800) 638-8480 for on-line application; (800) 553-6847 for Grateful Med software 4. PhoneFile Why: To find addresses and phone numbers for over 80-million households. Can search by name and address, name and ZIP code, name and city, name and state or by phone number only. Cost per search: $2.30 ($27.80 per hour) Vendor: MetroNet via CompuServe Contact: CompuServe, (800) 848-8199 5. U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Bulletin Board (EBB) Why: To get summaries of current economic conditions, employment, income and housing information by state or county, import and export statistics, all within 5-20 minutes after release Cost per search: $2 ($3-$12 per hour depending on time of day) One-year subscription is $35, which includes $12 search time credit. Vendor: U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Business Analysis Contact: (202) 377-1986 6. Supreme Court decisions supplied by Project Hermes Why: To get text of decisions beginning with June 1990 provided by Project Hermes, an experiment by the Supreme Court to provide opinions electronically within minutes of their release -- for free. Cost per search: $2.50 (approximate cost of 10-minute long-distance call to Cleveland, OH); no charge for using database Vendor: Free-Net, part of the nonprofit National Public Telecomputing Network at Case Western Reserve University Contact: (216) 368-2733, Tom Grundner, or (216) 368-3888 to dial into Free-Net and sign up on-line 7. Remote Access Chemical Hazards Electronic Library (RACHEL) Why: To get articles on hazardous materials and on a broad range of environmental subjects: acid rain, biotechnology, drinking water quality, etc. Cost per search: $2.30 (approximate cost of 10-minute long-distance call to Washington, DC); no charge for using database Vendor: Environmental Research Foundation Contact: (202) 328-1119 8. Newspaper Library Why: To get full-text of stories from 48 newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Newsday and the five Florida newspapers available through Dialog and Vu/Text. Cost per search: $7.50 ($12.80 per hour, plus $3 search charge, plus $3 per article) Vendor: Dialog and Vu/Text via CompuServe Contact: CompuServe, 1-800-848-8199 9. Cendata Why: To get Census Bureau data including population by race, age, sex, marital status, etc. for any city, county or state in the country Cost per search: $1.60 ($12.80 per hour) Vendor: U.S. Dept. of Commerce Bureau of the Census via CompuServe Contact: CompuServe, 1-800-848-8199 10. Biz*File Why: To find addresses and phone numbers for over 10-million U.S. and Canadian businesses. Can search by type of business or company name or phone number in a particular city, metro area or ZIP code. Cost per search: $2.80 ($27.80 per hour) Vendor: American Business Information Inc. via Compuserve Contact: CompuServe, (800) 848-8199 AND, FINALLY, A TRUE BLUE-LIGHT BONUS: A FREEBIE! Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) Why: To get citations and abstracts to over 750 education-related journals dating back more than 25 years and many other different documents including research and conference papers, books and pamphlets. Cost per search: Free through local phone numbers at most locations throughout the state. (Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors ($75) would be useful, but not necessary in constructing subject searches.) Vendor: U.S. Dept. of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement through the online catalog of Florida's State University System libraries (referred to as the Library User Information Service, also known as "LUIS.") Contact: FIRN Network Control, (904) 487-0911 Capture buffer closed [76117,1133] Lib:14 CHEAP.DBS/Asc Bytes: 6260, Count: 43, 18-Jun-92