The NICAR Database Library has updated two key datasets in our collection – both of which are, quite frankly, a challenge to obtain. The first is the FBI Uniform Crime Report data for 2007. Every year, law enforcement agencies all around the United States report their crime counts – usually for each month – to the FBI, by category. Categories include murder, arson and burglary. Wondering how crime in your town compares to others around the U.S.? Or whether the cops are busier during a certain time of year (Spring Break is coming up, after all)? This is the dataset for you. . The library also continues to update its collection of federal contract data (aka Federal Procurement Data System) -- federal spending is a hot topic right now -- and recently started adding information from Fiscal Year 2009. With the Federal Contract data, reporters can ask questions about which federal department is spending the most, who is getting the contracts, and search for no-bid contracts. Staff at the Database Library have been working with this particular dataset, and there is evidence of a slight jump in no-bid contracts since this time last year (Approximately 15 percent of reported contract actions were non-competitive between October 2007 and February 2008; Between October 2008 and February 2009, that figure hopped to 20 percent). While there are some sources on the Internet that provide information augmented by both of these datasets -- the FBI's Crime in the United States report and the frankly magnificant federalspending.org are two places that come to mind -- NICAR is one place where you can get raw data in the most complete form we are able to provide. And for reporters who want to use data to add sweep and scope to their stories, that's a valuable asset. But honestly, it's not the most valuable asset we provide to our members. More important is the familiarity and expertise our staff and students have when it comes to working with the information we provide. Any IRE member who buys data from us, or even calls us with general questions about computer-assisted reporting, is a priority here in the library. Ditto for any IRE member who calls us for help, period.