NARIC created the Community Resources Database (formerly the Knowledgebase) in 1996 by combining the Directory of National Information Sources on Disability and the Guide to Disability and Rehabilitation Periodicals along with our collection of bookmarks and our "Vertical File" of handy resources. This database contains more than 3,000 entries including national, state, and local groups; support organizations; private and federal resources; journals, newsletters, and directories; and Internet resources.
The Community Resources Database 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 our Disability and Rehabilitation Literature Database (REHABDATA).
- Databases and directories collect disability and rehabilitation data and other resources into usable formats.
- 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.
Field Descriptions and Categories
Below you will find the description of each field in the database and the categories to help you with your search and understanding the results.
Abstract: A brief description of the activities and services of these organizations and journals. You can search the abstract by keyword.
Descriptors: Keywords selected by database managers to index entries. These may come from our REHABDATA Thesaurus or from the resource's abstract or title. You can filter your results by keyword.
Disabilities Served: Describes which disabilities an organization or journal may focus on, if applicable. Some may focus on all disabilities (for example: American Association for People with Disabilities), others may concentrate on specific disabilities (for example: National Multiple Sclerosis Society [multiple sclerosis] or United Spinal [spinal cord injury/dysfunction]). You can search by disabilities service and also filter your results by disabilities served.
E-mail Address: Contact e-mail address.
Phone/Fax/TTY: Lists phone, fax, and TTY numbers.
Street Address/City/State/Zip: Address for organization or journal. You can search by state and filter your results by state.
Title: This field contains the name of the organization, journal, or Web page. You can search the title or organization name by keyword.
Web Page Address (URL): Internet address for Web pages.
Users Served: Lists what segments of the community are served by these organizations and journals, including professionals and general public. Some organizations may serve all users (for example: The Administration for Community Living), others may focus on a specific group (for example: Occupational therapists and OT students). You can search this field by keyword and filter your results by users served.
For Journals Only
Alternate Formats: Lists which alternative formats a journal can provide (audiotape, braille, disk, email, large print, microfiche, podcast, record, web).
Content: Lists which journals print calendars of events, human interest features, original research, new resources, book reviews, and organization news.
Where indexed: Lists which indexes include this journal (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 may be available from an organization (annual reports, articles, audiovisuals, brochures, directories, journals, magazines/newsletters, podcasts, and more).