5      IASSIST Quarterly Winter/Spring 2010     

of harmonization.  Mary Tao provides a timely look at data 
on the credit crisis.  She provides starting points for when 
a researcher asks for data and/or statistical information 
on mortgages, credit cards, financial institutions, and 
other financial crisis-related materials.  Both fee-based 
and free resources are included.  Kristi Thompson then 
turns to the developing world as she looks at survey data 
on international development. She focuses on survey 
data for developing countries.  She looks at some of 
the different groups that conduct surveys and make the 
microdata available.  She provides helpful comparisons 
of the major sources, their sample sizes, geographic and 
temporal coverage, and access issues.  The issue concludes 
with Michele Hayslett and Lynda Kellam focusing on the 
major changes that will occur with the 2010 United States 
Census and American Community Survey.  A series of 
examples illustrate the challenges researchers face with 
comparability.

The authors and I hope that future conferences and 
issues of this journal will have a renewed emphasis on 
the actual data. There are many subject areas to explore 
and sharing makes us all more knowledgeable. Thanks 
to Kristi Thompson for taking my ongoing call to arms 
at conferences and taking the lead to make it materialize 
into two panels that formed the basis for this double issue.  
Thanks to these authors for answering the call to arms to 
talk and to reshape their presentations into full articles 
about data reference.  Thanks again to Kristi for all of her 
organizational work in coordinating the original speakers 
into panels and for serving as a speaker, author, and helping 
to edit this issue.

Bobray Bordelon, Princeton University Library

Guest Editor’s Notes

In recent years, IASSIST conferences have tended to 
focus primarily on data documentation, infrastructure, 
technology, and other technical aspects.  All of these 
topics are crucial to the process.  However, the core is the 
actual data and understanding the subject matter.  With the 
largest number of participants being specialists who help 
researchers find appropriate data, it was alarming that so 
little emphasis was placed on a deeper understanding of the 
subject content and how researchers use the data.  A call 
to arms to focus on the actual data resulted in two sessions 
collectively titled “Data Reference in Depth” at the 2009 
IASSIST Conference, “Social Data and Social Networking: 
Connecting Social Science Communities Across the 
Globe”.  This special issue contains papers that emerged 
from these two sessions.  The presentations have been 
expanded to further elaborate on data reference.

In most research settings, data librarians are required to 
be fluent in a range of sources dependent on the needs of 
their researchers. The data librarian needs to be prepared 
to move easily between often diverse subject areas.   The 
data librarian has to transition from answering a question 
on population to trade to health to terrorism to religion 
and everything in between typically across all geographic 
boundaries and languages.  

This special issue gives readers a sampling of a data 
librarian's "day in the life" by highlighting a few major 
subject areas and their primary data sources. Readers 
will see a few of the particular reference challenges by 
getting an introduction to some key sources and particular 
challenges that crop up in a sampling of different areas.  In 
addition, the question “how does providing access to data, 
as a unique format, affect library reference services?” will 
be answered. 

Kristin Partlo examined how the data reference interview 
is especially crucial in the provision of research assistance, 
from the viewpoint of working with undergraduates at 
a small liberal arts college.  The lessons learned have a 
bearing on research institutions of all sizes and provides a 
model for getting to the heart of what is really needed.  Of 
particular importance is how to balance providing reference 
with instructing the researcher to learn from the experience.  
Partlo shares the data reference worksheet she devised and 
provides clear examples.

The issue then moves on to major resources available in 
five distinct subject areas.  Amy West provides a detailed 
analysis of the sources and interfaces for international 
trade, commodities, prices and production.  Walter 
Giesbrecht follows with a guide to labor looking at both 
national and international sources as well as the problems