Social Sciences Resource Center (SSRC): Key Resources and Services
by Judy Marsh
Located on the first floor of the Green Library Bing Wing, the Social Sciences Resource Center supports the research and instructional needs of the Stanford University community through a variety of resources and services.
SSRC Subject Specialists
Stanford users engaged in advanced social science research can contact the Center's subject specialists with their questions or arrange an appointment via email. Subject specialists, in conjunction with the faculty, plan and conduct instructional sessions for classes and special groups.
Jonsson Library of Government Documents
Collections include depository and other publications from the United Nations, international governmental agencies, U.S. Federal government, State of California, and foreign countries. Publications cover most subjects, including demography and population, education, international relations, public administration and international trade. Online databases provided by the Stanford Libraries allow users to access U.S. government, international, and foreign information. In addition, users have access to large collections of commercially produced publications on microform located within the Center. For details about Jonsson Library resources, services, and facilities go to their Web site. The Jonsson Library is open to the public during Green Library hours.
Jonsson Library Publications on CD-ROM
Stanford users and visitors can browse a unique collection of U. S. and California state agency bibliographic and full-text publications on CD-ROM from computers located in the SSRC reception area. A customized, user-friendly computer interface facilitates easy access to these and other Jonsson Library of Government Documents resources and popular Web sites. Users with questions about access to the Jonsson Library CD-ROM collection can inquire during open hours at the SSRC Reception Desk.
J. Erik Jonsson Social Sciences Reading Room
The Jonsson Reading Room provides a comfortable environment for users engaged in social science research. A reference collection of over 10,000 volumes includes scholarly encyclopedias, handbooks, dictionaries, and directories, finding aids and guides to United States and British government agency archives. Other collections consist of classic texts, monographs published by Stanford's Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI), and a selection of newspapers and current issues of journals and magazines in the social sciences. In addition to print collections, Stanford faculty, staff and students have access to twelve networked computers installed with popular quantitative (statistical) software (SPSS, SAS, Stata, Amos), qualitative software (NVivo), GIS software, and data conversion software. Users with questions about these software packages can contact the software consultants via the SSDS Web site. The Jonsson Reading Room is located in the SSRC and is open during Green Library building hours.
New and Notable Books
Visit our new books "corner" located just outside of the Jonsson Reading Room, next to the reception desk. New books circulate for twenty-eight days and generally remain on the shelf for two months before heading to their permanent stack location. Current titles include: Behavioral Economics and its Applications [HB74 .P8 B44 2007], Involuntary Memory [BF378.I68 I58 2007], IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea [BF431 .M825 2007], Envy, Competition and Gender [BF692.2 .E58 2007], and Multiculturalism without Culture [HQ1161 .P452 2007]. Find full descriptions of these titles via Socrates.
Public Events
The Center is host to special activities and events throughout the year that bring experts from Stanford and from other universities, government, and industry for presentations with cross-disciplinary appeal. Our spring 2007 symposium, Censuses and Surveys: Still Useful for the Common Good?, featured Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University and former director, United States Census Bureau (1998-2001); Henry Brady, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy and Director, UC DATA; and Douglas Rivers, Professor of Political Science and Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford, University. The Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford University (IRiSS) co-sponsored this event. Catch up on videos and posters from this and other past events here.
Social Science Data and Software (SSDS)
SSDS staff members provide services and support to Stanford faculty, staff and students in finding and getting social science data and selecting and using quantitative (statistical) and qualitative software. Details about SSDS are available in Social Science Data and Software (SSDS): An Array of Resources and Services in this issue.
