The Information Resource Center (IRC) is the reference and documentation center of the United States Embassy in Uruguay, managed by the Public Affairs Section. The Center provides information on virtually all aspects of the United States, including social sciences (civil rights, political science, legislative process, texts of bills and laws), economy and trade, foreign policy, as well as global issues such as drugs, communications and the environment.

Patrons can seek this information via a variety of media: CD-ROMS, Internet, on-line databases, books, periodicals, government documents and think tank reports.

The Reference Center's staff can assist the public in answering detailed questions or identifying appropriate information sources to contact in the U.S. In addition, a quick reference service provides addresses, telephone and fax numbers of government and private organizations, statistics and biographical data, and other data of general interest.

The IRC responds to queries by telephone, fax, email, and regular mail. Access to the facility is by appointment only.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

CD-ROMS

Encyclopedia Americana
One of the most comprehensive general encyclopedias available. Access to 45,000 A-Z articles with hotlinked cross-references. It includes over 113,000 links to the World Wide Web from over 24,000 articles.

Information USA
An authoritative resource for foreign audiences seeking information about official U.S. policies, American society, culture, and political processes.

Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
This CD-ROM includes not only the full text of the printed dictionary, but also illustrations and professionally recorded pronunciations.

Ulrich's on Disc
Ulrich's is the principal reference guide to periodicals published worldwide. All pertinent bibliographic information including publisher, editor, ISSN, price, address and subject is included.

Wilson Biographies
Offers a comprehensive coverage of over 38,000 figures from the past to the present, plus searchability by name, profession, place of origin, gender, race/ethnicity, date of birth, keyword.

ONLINE DATABASES

Books in Print
Covers the entire market of in-print books published and distributed in the US (over 2 million entries). One can search the database by combining search categories - from author, title, and publisher to ISBN, price and publication year and also includes Bowker's Author Biography Database giving access to over 6,000 biographies on the world's most influential authors.

CIAO - Columbia International Affairs Online
A comprehensive source for research on international affairs includes working papers from university research institutes, NGOs, foundation-funded research projects and proceedings from conferences.

EBSCO Academic Elite
An Internet based database of 2,800 titles with indexing and abstracting and 1,800 full text titles.

FACTIVA
Specializes in business information with access to over 6,000 full text periodicals. Includes same day, full-text coverage of national and regional prominent U.S. and European newspapers such as Reuters wires, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

Federal News Service (FNS)
FNS provides transcripts to testimony, briefings, press conferences and congressional hearings with questions and answers. FNS also produces a daybook which details significant events in Washington as well as cabinet officer schedules.

First Search (OCLC)
Provides access to bibliographic, abstract, and full-text information on the following subjects: Arts & Humanities, Business & Economics, Consumer Affairs & People, Education, News & Current Events, Public Affairs & Law, Social Sciences, etc.

Foundation Directory
This online database provides information on the nation's largest foundations. Clients can choose from up to seven search fields to generate lists of targeted funding prospects.

Gale Group's
a. Biography Resource Center
Includes full-text articles from hundreds of periodicals, allowing to search for people based on one or more personal facts such as birth and death year, nationality, ethnicity, occupation or gender, or combine criteria to create a highly-targeted custom search.
b. Infotrac OneFile
A one-stop source for news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business, computers, current events, economics, education, environmental issues, health care, hobbies, humanities, law, literature and art, politics, science, social science, sports, technology, and many general interest topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily.
c. Ready Reference Shelf
Contains more than 335,000 records and comprises three files: Organizations, Publications, and Databases such as National, International and Regional Associations; Publishers; Libraries, Information Centers and Research Centers; Governmental Advisory Organizations; Databases; and Religious and Broadcast Media Organizations.

Leadership Directories
It's a comprehensive database of who's who in the leadership of the United States, updated weekly. It covers 400,000 American leaders of government, business and the professions.

Lexis-Nexis
Specialized in legal information and new sources. Includes primary legal materials such as Federal and State legislation, bill texts, bill tracking, and case law. Contains secondary legal materials such as articles from over 500 law reviews and journals, plus 6.000 full text, U.S. and International news sources.

Proquest Academic Research Library
It is a resource of electronic collections containing articles originally published in magazines, newspapers, and journals, providing access to over 4,000 indexed titles and over 2,000 full text journals with images. It also provides citations or abstracts of over 1600 periodicals and newspapers including New York Times.

STAT-USA
The U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration supports this online information resource. It contains crucial and timely business and economic information produced by Federal agencies.

PERIODICALS

American Economic Review American Journal of International Law American Political Science Review Armed Forces & Society Challenge Chronicle of Higher Education Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Columbia Journalism Review Current History The Economist Environment Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs (Spanish Version) Foreign Policy Fortune Governing

Harvard Business Review Human Rights Quarterly Inside the Internet Journal of Democracy Journal of Drug Issues Journal of Economic Literature Journal of Economic Perspectives Journal of World Business Latin American Politics and Society Library Journal The Nation New Perspectives Quarterly The New York Times Newsweek OnEarth Orbis

Perspectives on Politics PS - Political Science & Politics Society State Magazine Studies in Conflict & Terrorism Technology Review Time U.S. News and World Report Vital Speeches of the Day The Wall Street Journal The Washington Monthly Washington Quarterly The Washington Post - National Weekly Ed. The Washington Post Sunday Ed. The World and I

Call, write, email, or fax us at: U.S. Embassy Montevideo Information Resource Center Lauro Muller 1776 Montevideo, Uruguay C.P. 11200

Tel: (598)(2) 413-0513 Fax: (598)(2) 413-0514 Electronic mail: ircmvd@state.gov Office hours: Monday to Friday, from 9.00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PLEASE NOTE: Emails regarding visas, American Citizen Services issues, or consular affairs cannot be answered by the IRC. Send visa related questions to MontevideoVisas@state.gov American Citizen Services: MontevideoACS@state.gov Immigrant Visa/Diversity Visa lottery: MontevideoIV@state.gov