How many people visited Alaska last year?

Tourism is a big industry in Alaska. How big, you ask? According to the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development Division of Economic Development's report, Economic Impact of Alaska's Visitor Industry, 2013-14 Update, more than 1.93 million people visited Alaska between October 2013 and September 2014.

The United States Census estimate for Alaska's 2014 population is 736,732. More than 2.5 times that many people visited the state during the reporting period. That's a lot of tourists!

Cruise ship docked in Skagway. Photo by Jasperdo, some rights reserved.

Building codes

Question: Where do I find the Alaska building codes?

Answer: Like many states, Alaska relies heavily on uniform building codes. The precise codes that the state uses, as well as any changes or sections not employed, are listed in the Alaska Administrative Code: 13 AAC 50. The Alaska State Library maintains the current and previous two editions of the International Building Code and some other codes. For details, search our catalog.

The specific codes you need may be available at a library near you, but they usually are not available to be checked out. If they aren't available locally for you, you can request specific pages through interlibrary loan, or you can purchase a copy (or, much less expensively, purchase portions that relate to your specific needs). Just check your favorite local or online bookstore.

Alaskan historical census data

Question: How many WWI veterans lived in Anchorage in 1970?

Answer: 82, according to "Table 102, Social Characteristics for Places of 10,000 - 50,000: 1970" found on page 3-135 of the US Census "General Social and Economic Characteristics: Alaska" from the 1970 Census.

The Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development/Research and Analysis Division has scanned and posted PDFs of Alaska related census reports from 1880, 1910 and 1940 through 1990 at Alaska Census 1880-2010. For 1980, these reports include:

Number of Inhabitants
General Population Characteristics
Detailed Population Characteristics
General Social and Economic Characteristics

Alaska Census Data from 2000 and beyond can be located at Labor's Alaska Census Data and Information page.

Presidential speeches

Question: Where can I find the official version of the speech that President Ronald Reagan gave on the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger and the official version of the speech that President George W. Bush gave on the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia?

Answer: The official version of both speeches can be found in Public Papers of the Presidents as follows:

Address to the Nation on the Explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, January 28, 1986 - page 94-95 of:

Reagan, Ronald. 1989. Public papers of the Presidents of the United States Ronald Reagan. 1986. Washington: United States Government Printing Office.

Address to the Nation on the Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia, February 1, 2003 - page 119-120 of:

Bush, George W. 2006. Public papers of the presidents of the United States, George W. Bush: 2003. Washington: U.S. G.P.O.

President Bush's speech is also available electronically through the FDSys system at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PPP-2003-book1/pdf/PPP-2003-book1-doc-pg119.pdf.

Redistributing Federal Documents

Question: There is a federal bill that I’m interested in, and I want to share it with my colleagues through email and a listserv. Where can I find a copy that I can send around without worrying about copyright issues?

Answer: We’ve already talked a bit about the wonderfulness of the Library of Congress’s THOMAS, where you can search for individual bills by bill number, text, or sponsor. But did you know they offered full-text of each available bill?

Once you've found the bill you need, THOMAS will send you on to the Government Printing Office, where you can download a pdf of the bill. Since these are published by the federal government, they fall under public domain and you can distribute them to your heart’s desire.

US Fish & Fisheries Commission Annual Reports

Question: I am interested in researching the annual reports from the Commission of Fish and Fisheries from 1880 through the 1890's. According to the records of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NARA has them in microfiche. How can I get the information for my research?

Answer: In this case, you will not need the microfiche because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has posted the annual reports of the United States Fish and Fisheries Commission (AKA United States Fish Commission) online at http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/cof/data_rescue_fish_commission_annual_reports.html. These reports cover the date range of 1871 - 1979 with some gaps in between. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the PDF files.

Finding Congressional activity

Question: How do I find what occurred in the US Congress on September 11, 2001?

Answer: One method is to use Thomas from the Library of Congress. Click on:

1. "Congressional Record", currently on the left hand side of the page, then
2. "Browse Daily Issues", currently to the right of "Search the Congressional Record", then
3. "107" for the daily listing of the 107th Congress. We know that this is the correct Congress because the years 2001-2002 are listed at the top.

You will find September 11, 2001, towards the bottom of the page with links to the floor activity in the House, extensions on remarks made in congress, and a digest summary of the day's activities. There doesn't seem to have been any floor activity in the Senate on that day, but if there were, that would have been listed too.

Finding Old Alaska USGS Reports

Question: Where would I find a copy of Marcus Baker's Geographic Dictionary of Alaska? I think it was published in the early 1900s by the US Geological Survey.

Answer: While this dictionary is available in paper at a number of libraries, including ours, thanks to the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, you can also find this report online at http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/pubs?reqtype=citation&ID=3362. This is one of many historic USGS reports that have been digitized by the Division. You can search or browse for more of this historic material at http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/index.php?menu_link=publications&link=publications_search.

List of Americans Who Have Renounced Citizenship

Question: I would like to see if someone has or has not renounced their US citizenship. I think there is a list published each year. Where are those lists?

Answer: The list is called "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate" and is published quarterly by the Internal Revenue Service in the Federal Register.

To view all lists published so far, visit www.fdsys.gov and type in "Quarterly Publication of Individuals, Who Have Chosen To Expatriate" into the search box. The list appears to have been first produced in January 1997. As of this writing, the latest list of individuals was published in November 2009.

You may well wonder why this list of individuals who have sworn off allegiance to the United States is published by the Internal Revenue Service and not by the State Department, especially when it is the State Department that issues the "Certificate of Lost Nationality" that results when a person has gone through the difficult process of renouncing their US Citizenship.

The reason for the IRS handling the list is because the 1996 law (PL 104-191, Title V, Sec 512(a)) was passed in an atmosphere where it was assumed that tax evasion was the number one reason for renouncing one's US citizenship.

If you live in Alaska, you can get a flavor of this climate by visiting the Digital Pipeline at http://sled.alaska.edu/databases/home.html and typing in [renounce citizenship taxes].

Appointed Positions in the Federal Government

Question: Where can I locate information about appointed positions within the federal government, specifically whether or not a nominee for a position is confirmed by the U.S. Senate?

Answer: The Plum Book is freely available online at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plumbook/. The November 2008 book is the most current issue and the next printing will be in 2012. The legend provides interpretation for the various appointment codes. The appointments are separated out by agency or other government organization. Within each section, you will find details on the position title, geographic location, name of the incumbent, type of appointment, pay information, tenure and appointment expiration date if there is one. A "PAS" code under type of appointment indicates that the position is nominated by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

To research current nominees and appointments under the President Obama’s administration, the White House posted a database at http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/nominations-and-appointments. The “find inside” search box is on the top towards the right. The table lists the person's name, position title, federal agency, and the nomination/confirmation dates. You can change the way the table sorts, download the data or even email it to someone.

How Wealthy We Are

Update: URLs checked and updated. 8/1/11

Question: Where does Alaska rank nationally in terms of wealth?

Answer: Wealth can have a number of meanings. Two common measures used by the federal government for wealth are “Gross Domestic Product by State” and “Personal Income per Capita” by state.

According to the Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009, Alaska ranks 45th in Gross Domestic Product by state in current (2007) dollars. See table at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/ranks/rank28.html.

In terms of Personal Income Per Capita, Alaska ranked 15th in 2007, the latest year available. Please see the table Personal Income Per Capita in Current and Constant (2000) Dollars by State at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2009/tables/09s0659.pdf.

More wealth tables from the Statistical Abstract can be found at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/income_expenditures_poverty_wealth.html.

Terrorism Statistics By Country

Question: I've heard that the US government publishes annual statistics on terrorism by country. Where can I find these statistics?

Answer: The State Department publishes an annual report called Country Reports on Terrorism which is available at http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/index.htm. As of this writing, the latest version is 2013. The country reports consist of a narrative about the environment for terrorist groups in each country. There are worldwide and Iraq/Afghanistan statistics contained in each year's Annex of Statistical Information. The Annex for 2013 can be found at http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/index.htm.

Another source of terrorism statistics is the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) at http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/. The GTD is a project of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism and is located at the University of Maryland. According to the GTD website, this database is: "an open-source database including information on terrorist events around the world from 1970 through 2007 (with annual updates planned for the future). Unlike many other event databases, the GTD includes systematic data on domestic as well as transnational and international terrorist incidents that have occurred during this time period and now includes more than 80,000 cases. For each GTD incident, information is available on the date and location of the incident, the weapons used and nature of the target, the number of casualties, and—when identifiable—the group or individual responsible."

Updated 4/10/15

Retirement Age for Social Security

Question: When can I start drawing my full Social Security benefit? When I'm 65?

Answer: It depends. Assuming you otherwise qualify for Social Security, they pay full benefits when you reach "Full Retirement Age." "Full Retirement Age" varies by when you were born. Below is a Q&A that was taken from the Social Security FAQ website at http://www.ssa.gov/pgm/links_retirement.htm:

Question

What age can I begin receiving full retirement benefits?

Answer

Full-retirement age has been 65 for many years. However, beginning with people born in 1938 or later, that age will gradually increase until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959.

The following chart shows the steps in which the age will
increase.

Year of Birth / Full Retirement Age
1937 or earlier / 65
1938 / 65 and 2 months
1939 / 65 and 4 months
1940 / 65 and 6 months
1941 / 65 and 8 months
1942 / 65 and 10 months
1943--1954 / 66
1955 / 66 and 2 months
1956 / 66 and 4 months
1957 / 66 and 6 months
1958 / 66 and 8 months
1959 / 66 and 10 months
1960 and later / 67

Note: Persons born on January 1 of any year should refer to the full
retirement age for the previous year.

Specific questions about your Social Security benefits may be directed to your local Social Security office. Find your local office by visiting https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/FOLO/fo001.jsp.

Alaska Pipeline Oil Spill Data

Question: Where can I find oil spill data for Alaska online?

Answer: The best place online for this information is the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Spill Response at http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/index.htm. This agency is required by federal law to log spills and responses. The following are several links to their data:

1. Spills Database Online Query at http://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/PERP/SpillSearch.
Complete information back to 1995. Prior to that the data may be incomplete and/or inaccurate. Direct contact information for the agency is listed on the page in case you need older data. If you choose to search the database, the “Spill Specific Search” will allow you to limit by location, type of incident, type of substance and more. In addition, you can use two other buttons search by facility or affiliate (company) if you have the information.

2. Oil and Hazardous Substance Spill Data Summaries at http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/data.htm.
These reports are general, but the larger reports will indicate major pipeline spills. You can then take that information and go back to the online database’s “Spill Specific Search” for details.
3. Response Updates back to FY04 (July 2003 – June 2004) http://dec.alaska.gov/spar/perp/response/sr_active.htm.
This is a browse portal without searching capabilities. You can find basic information on the active responses and read detailed situation reports.

Charter of the United Nations

Question: Where I can find a copy of the United Nations Charter?

Answer: The Charter of the United Nations is available through the United Nations website at http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml.

The Charter has also been published a number of times since its creation in 1945. To see libraries that hold the 1945 edition of the UN Charter, please visit http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3837545.

Historic List of Alaska Legislators

Question: I heard about a list of Alaska State Legislators through history but cannot find it online. Can you help me?

Answer: The list is called the Roster of Members and is found on the Alaska State Legislature's publications page. You will find the link for the publication about halfway down on the righthand side. It includes information on the participants in the Alaska Constitutional Convention and Legislative member details from the first Territorial Legislature in 1913 through the 28th State Legislature for the 2013 and 2014 sessions.

Classification Codes

Update: Links have been checked and updated. 4/6/15

QUESTION: How does the state of Alaska assign classification codes to state government documents?

ANSWER: At this time, the State of Alaska does not have a standardized classification scheme for state publications. At the Alaska State Library, we use the Library of Congress system to catalog most of our materials, including our state documents. For more detailed information on Library of Congress, visit http://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/lcco/.

If a state agency implements a classification system, it will sometimes refer to a report series, the date of publication, the publication sequence, an assigned agency code and other internal filing or coding systems. At times, state agency newsletters and journals will include standard periodical classification such as volume number, issue number, and publication date.

Here are a few examples:

1.) State of Alaska, Dept. of Fish & Game, Technical Fishery Reports at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/indhttp://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=librarypublications.publicationsreports_fisheries.

2.) State of Alaska, Legislative Audit, Audit Report Lists at http://legaudit.akleg.gov/.

3.) State of Alaska. Dept. of Natural Resources, Div. of Geological & Geophysical Surveys’ Publication Series at http://dggs.alaska.gov/pubs/pubs?reqtype=pubseries&publisher=DGGS.

4.) State of Alaska, Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development’s “Alaska Economic Trends” journal at http://labor.state.ak.us/trends/.

Fix a book

Question: Do you have Artemis BonaDea's book, "Conservation Book Repair: A training manual," which was published by the Alaska State Library, available for purchase?

Answer: The State Library no longer has paper copies of this title available for sale. However, the entire book is available online at http://library.alaska.gov/hist/conman.html, and the introduction specifically allows some copying:

The contents of this manual may be reprinted in whole or in part, with proper credit, to accommodate users, library board members, and personnel of libraries. Reproduction of this manual in whole or in part, for resale, except to recover actual costs, is not authorized.

Transition Reports to the Governor

Question: I looked online for transition reports to Governor Palin and could not find them. Do you have copies that I may check out?

Answer: We have circulating copies of all of the Alaska State agency transition reports produced for Governor Palin in 2006. You find records for the entire collection here. You can search the library's catalog yourself at http://jlc-web.uaa.alaska.edu/client/asl. Search for the words "transition report governor" and limit the publication year to 2006. You should retrieve a list of sixteen reports to the Governor.

In addition, we have transition reports for previous Alaska governors going back to 1982. To generate the full list, use the search above, but leave out the Pubyear.

If you are in Juneau, you can browse the transitional reports in our Circulating collection by going to the section JK 9538. If you are outside of Juneau, you can request the reports through Interlibrary Loan at your local library.

Repeat Criminals in Alaska

Question: Where I can find information on repeat offenders in Alaska?

Answer: Here are a couple of recent reports from the Alaska Judicial Council that cover repeat offenders in the State of Alaska:

Criminal Recidivism in Alaska (January 2007)
http://library.alaska.gov/asp/edocs/2007/03/ocm83977386.pdf

Recidivism in Alaska's Felony Therapeutic Courts (February 2007)
http://library.alaska.gov/asp/edocs/2007/03/ocm85815309.pdf

Questions to ask yourself that might lead to additional resources include:

1) Whom do you consider a repeat offender? Are you looking for a certain kind of offender?
2) Is there a particular type of crime that you are interested in?