----------------------------Original message----------------------------
---------------------------- Forwarded with Changes ---------------------------
>From: [log in to unmask] at @UCSD
>Date: 5/21/97 6:07PM
>To: larry cruse at UCSDLIBRARY
>Subject: (Fwd)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 
 
Public Information Office                                CB97-89
301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax)
301-457-4067 (TDD)
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
Cavan Capps
301-457-3778
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
 
          New Census Bureau/Bureau Of Labor Statistics
                  Internet Search Tool Launched
 
   The U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau and the
Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) are proud
to announce a new joint project that enables users to access and
manipulate large demographic and economic data sets on a
jointly-sponsored Internet site.
 
   The Federal Electronic Research and Review Extraction Tool or
FERRET <http://ferret.bls.census.gov/egi-bin/ferret>, is a
computer search tool developed by the Census Bureau and BLS. It
is designed to aid not only sophisticated researchers, but also
reporters, students, government policy-makers or amateur
statisticians.
 
   "FERRET is another step toward accomplishing the Census
Bureau's goal of making its data available more quickly, less
expensively and to a wider audience," said Cavan Capps,
FERRET project manager at the Census Bureau. "We welcome comments
from data users about FERRET, its ease of use, its timeliness and
whether there are other data sets they would like included."
 
   Ferret was developed to provide one-stop access to statistics
from the Current Population Survey (CPS) and the Survey of Income
and Program Participation (SIPP).
 
   The CPS is a survey of about 50,000 households that the Census
Bureau conducts for BLS, which is used to produce BLS' estimates
of employment and unemployment. It also includes periodic
supplements covering a range of topics, such as income and
poverty, health insurance coverage and school enrollment. These
are published by the Census Bureau.
 
   The SIPP, a Census Bureau survey of about 37,000 households,
collects data monthly on sources of income and participation in
government-assistance programs, as well as on various aspects of
economic well-being.
 
   Among the current and future data topics that will be
accessible through FERRET are:  employment, health care,
education, race and ethnicity, health insurance, housing, income
and poverty, aging and marriage, and family.
 
   FERRET allows users to quickly locate current and historical
information from these sources, get tabulations for specific
information they need, make comparisons between different data
sets, create simple tables and download large amounts of data to
desktop and larger computers for custom reports.
 
   FERRET will be one of the tools in the Census Bureau's Data
Access and Dissemination System (DADS). DADS is being developed
to provide better access to all census data.
 
   Currently, data from the 1995 and 1996 March Supplement and
the 1996 Displaced Workers Supplement to the CPS are available,
while data from the SIPP will be included in the near future.
 
   Comments on FERRET may be sent to Cavan Capps on 301-457-3778
or by e-mail to [log in to unmask]
 
                               -X-
 
The Census Bureau--pre-eminent collector and provider of timely,
relevant, and quality data about the people and economy of the
United States. In over 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a
decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau
provides official information about America's people, businesses,
industries and institutions.
 
 
 
 
)