The NARIC Knowledgebase: Origins and Content

The NARIC Knowledgebase is the database our information specialists have used for over 20 years to provide information and referral to our patrons. This database contains more than 2,400 entries including national, state, and local groups; support organizations; private and federal resources; journals, newsletters, and directories; and Internet resources.

The Knowledgebase contains four types of resources:

  • Organizations, agencies, and facilities that offer services to the disability and rehabilitation communities.
  • Journals, newsletters, and magazines with a disability or rehabilitation focus. Articles from these periodicals may appear in REHABDATA.
  • Databases and directories collect disability and rehabilitation data and other resources into usable formats.
  • Internet and Internet-only resources include a link directly to content-rich resources. Some of these resources exist online only such as email discussion groups and online communities.

The following describe the contents of records found in the Knowledgebase:

Basic Fields

Title: This field contains the name of the organization, journal, or Web page.

Street Address/City/State/Zip: Address for organization or journal.

Web Page Address (URL): Internet address for Web pages.

E-mail Address: Contact e-mail address.

Phone/Fax/TTY: Lists phone, fax, and TTY numbers.

Disabilities Served: Lists which disabilities an organization or journal covers. Some may focus on general disabilities or rehabilitation. Others may concentrate on specific disabilities.

Users Served: Lists what segments of the community are served by these organizations and journals, including professionals and general public.

Abstract: A brief description of the activities and services of these organizations and journals.

Descriptors: Keywords used to index entries.

Database: Indicates whether this resource is a periodical (GTP96), organization (NIS96, NARIC KB), ADA resource (ADA Org2), or Internet resource (BOOKMARK). See above for further information. Some entries may have appeared in two or more databases.

Journal Fields

Alternate Formats: Lists which alternative formats a journal can provide (audiotape, braille, etc.).

Content: Lists which journals print calendars of events, human interest features, original research, new resources, book reviews, and organization news.

Where indexed: Lists in which indexes a journal appears (i.e. ERIC, Medline, CINAHL, REHABDATA, etc.).

Organization Fields

Organization Type: Indicates whether an organization is private, nonprofit, federal, etc.

Publications Available: Lists what publications are available from an organization (brochures, directories, etc.).