The Gun Violence Data Hub, a project of The Trace, has launched a data library to further its mission of making information about gun violence accessible to local newsrooms and researchers. The library is the latest addition to the Data Hub, which launched in the fall of 2024 with a live help desk and resource guides.
The library allows journalists, researchers, and the public to search for and explore firearm-related datasets. Each entry includes file downloads, important context about how to use the data, a methodology, and related stories from The Trace. The datasets have been cleaned and organized so that journalists in local newsrooms can tell the story of gun violence in their communities.
“We dreamed up the data hub because coverage of gun violence has been constrained by a lack of accessible, clear data,” said Tali Woodward, the editor in chief of The Trace. “We are launching the library during a moment when comprehensive, empirical data is under threat, so preservation is also now an important part of our mission.”
The library launched with nine initial datasets:
- ATF Gun Traces (International)
- ATF Gun Traces (U.S.)
- California Ghost Guns, Stolen Guns, and More
- CDC Gun Deaths
- Firearm Production
- Firearm Sales
- Pregnancy Gun Deaths
- School-adjacent shootings (Coming soon!)
- TSA Firearm Detections
- Youth Gun Deaths
The Trace built the Data Hub with practitioners in mind. The site provides clean, contextualized, downloadable information in common formats, instead of dashboards or fancy exploratory tools that can easily lead to misunderstandings and make exports difficult.
“Most importantly, the Data Hub shows our work and our reporting,” the Data Hub editor George LeVines said. “It’s not just tables of numbers — those are great — but we provide all the details that went into gathering and cleaning the data, including direct language from sources responsible for the figures.”
The data library debuted at the National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting conference in front of a standing-room-only crowd on March 7, 2025. Since then, the site has seen many dataset downloads and inquiries submitted through the help desk.
The help desk facilitates communication between users and the Data Hub. Journalists and researchers can reach out to staffers and get timely answers to their questions about covering gun violence, receive assistance with datasets and data analysis, and propose collaborations.
The Data Hub also hosts a resources page. The initial batch of resources include:
- U.S. Gun Violence 101
- The Gun Violence Glossary
- The Trace’s Gun Violence Data & Best Practices Guide
- Reporting Recipe: How to use CDC gun deaths data to report in your community
The Data Hub has already collaborated with two newsrooms, providing data for a high-performing narrative about police use of force with Verite News in New Orleans, and an investigation into school-adjacent shootings in Washington, D.C. aired by NBC4.
To learn more, visit datahub.thetrace.org, reach out to [email protected], or contact us using the help desk.