Value Databases for Business Valuation Research 
Jan Davis shares some of the low-cost databases that business appraisers rely on for researching privately held companies.

 The 51st State: The State of Online
Monitoring What They Say: Accountability and Tech Tools. Part 1. Mainstream Press 
Laura Gordon-Murnane switches gears in her series on how online is shaping the 2008 presidential and congressional elections, examining how online tools are enabling voters to investigate the questionable actions of, or accusations made by, government officials as well as those running for office.

 Federated Search
One Simple Query or Simply Wishful Thinking? 
Miriam Drake talked to a number of federated search developers to get their perspective on issues such as scalability, common names, and reliability and how these areas affect federated search technology and user satisfaction.

 Researching the Americas’ First Peoples
Sources and Searching Problems 
After a quick history lesson on when the first peoples arrived in North America, Nancy Herther explains the barriers, such as a lack of written history and multiple languages, to finding valuable information on the earliest Native Americans. She then reviews the core databases for studying historical Native America and looks at the growing discipline of Native American studies. Sidebars provide general tips and identify fee as well as free web resources.

Digital Convergence
Building Blocks or Mud Bricks? 
Steve Arnold revisits convergence, a topic he addressed in two previous Searcher articles, this time looking at the challenges those working within libraries, museums, and public service venues will face in a “converged” society.

Internet Express
Using the Web to Weather Tough Times 
Nearly everyone is feeling the economic pinch, whether from the rising prices at the gas pump or the jump in grocery bills. Irene McDermott cashes in on web resources that offer advice on budgeting, credit card selection, saving money, selling items, and more.

 Tools of the Trade
After All the Agony, Has Site Search Become a Free Lunch?
Erik Arnold takes the lid off the best kept site search secret — that the Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo! search infrastructures can now be used on any website — and compares how easy each company has made site searching for the average webmaster.

Contacts
Find the postal and electronic addresses, phone and fax numbers for all the companies, products, and people mentioned in this issue.