Subject Guides: Government Information Data Rescue: Alternative Sources

Sources for use by American University Library Community Users

The following resources currently hold government data, and must be accessed using an AU login or a guest login.

ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World contains census data in geographic format
PolicyMap contains purged federal agency data
SimplyAnalytics contains a number of federal datasets
SocialExplorer contains historical census data

ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World This link opens in a new window
The ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World is a collection of geographic information from around the world including US federal data. The content is frequently updated and intended for use with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro software.
Currently, access is limited to current faculty and students for teaching, learning, and scholarly research.
Access prohibited from the following locations: Iran, Sudan, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, and the Crimea region in the Ukraine.
To access:
- Click the Sign In button
- On the sign-in page, click to expand ‘Your ArcGIS Organization’s URL'
- Enter americanu in the input box
- Click ‘Continue’
- Click ‘American University’
- Sign in on the familiar AU sign in page
Questions? Send email to geospatial@american.edu.
PolicyMap This link opens in a new window
Integrates data including demographics, home sale statistics, health data, mortgage trends, labor data and more with web-based GIS. This allows users to view data on maps, table, and charts.
** Access restricted to current AU students, faculty, and staff. **

** There was an update made to our authentication to this resource on August 20, 2024. Existing users will be prompted to verify their accounts by inputting a code sent to their @american.edu email. **
SimplyAnalytics This link opens in a new window
An easy-to-use web-based mapping, analytics, and data visualization application with 50,000+ data variables, including demographic data from the US Census and the American Community Survey (ACS), consumer spending data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX), and over 20 million business points from Dun and Bradstreet with detailed profiles on each business, in addition to the CDC PLACES health data delivered by SimplyAnalytics providing 27 diverse health measures, including Health Outcomes, Prevention, Health Risk Behaviors, and Health Status including estimates. Users also have access to the Claritas PRIZM Premier marketing segmentation system enabling users to understand lifestyle characteristics of places or identify target market segments. Data is available down to the Census Block Group level.
Users may create accounts to save their searches or proceed as guests.
**Access is limited to 5 concurrent users.**
Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Coverage: U.S. Census and demographic data from 1790 to present. Updated: Continuously. Contains current and historical U.S. Census and demographic data that can be downloaded. One can create thematic and interactive maps as well as reports at the state, county, census tract, block group, and ZIP code level.
** You must register for a free account to use this resource. **
**Access limited to 3 concurrent users. **