In this issue of Small Bytes, we’ll provide information about our recently developed Coalition Database. This database contains the contact information, activities and focus of work for all of the organizations and coalitions that are part of the Minnesota Star of the North Prevention Coalition (Star). It is available on the World Wide Web, and all of the information is searchable. And now for the details…

Background

Since the beginning of Star, contact information about members has been kept in a centralized database at the Star offices in Anoka. This information has been used to send out mailings and to keep track of the size of our membership. It has always been our intent to share this resource with Star members as a way to contact each other and share expertise and experiences. By using the World Wide Web to publish this information, we can also reach the entire state and beyond to also serve as a resource for others concerned about alcohol, tobacco and other drug use problems.

Information Searches

So how does this thing work? Like so many things, this searchable database is (hopefully) easier to use than to describe, but these are the steps needed to access and look up information about members of the Star of the North Prevention Coalition:

The database is located at: http://www.miph.org/star

You should use a web browser such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer and go to the Star web site by typing in this web address. Once you are looking at the main Star web page (called the Home Page) click your mouse on the button labeled Coalition Database. You will jump to a page that presents a form used to search the database.

You should use this form to pick the fields you want to use to search the database. All of the fields in the form represent the various bits of information being stored about all 130+ coalitions, organizations and individuals who are members of Star of the North. The form is divided into two parts; the top half pertains to contact information, and the bottom half pertains to the type of work a coalition does. In the form, fill in only the information of interest to you, not something in every field.

For example, if you are interested in other groups in your region, you could put ’north’ or ’northeast’ in the Region field. Once you press the Start Search button you will be presented with a list of all of the organizations located in the region you requested. Or you could check the ’Alcohol’, ’Ages 13-18’ and ’Rural’ boxes to see who is working on rural teen drinking issues. After getting a list of coalitions that meet your search criteria, you can click on any of the groups listed to get a more detailed description of that group. Any of the lists or detailed descriptions can be printed if you have a printer connected to your computer.

Updating Information

The first thing people like to do with a tool like this is to look up their own information, which is encouraged. If you look up your own information and find errors, or see errors in the listings for other groups, please send corrections either by e-mail at star@miph.org or by regular mail at our Star offices. We want this resource to be as accurate as possible.

If you have any other comments or concerns about this online tool, please feel free to send them to us. Your input is vital to make this tool and our Coalition a success.