Selected Resources
Business Information Systems 331
Spring Semester, 2002
Table of Contents
Books
There are two resources that will assist
in locating items in the Lehigh University libraries and in other libraries.
They are:
-
ASA,
The Library’s Online Catalog. This lists all the items in the library
and their location. This resource is available on the WWW.
-
WorldCat.
This is a catalog that lists over 44 million items including books, journals,
audio-visual, CD-ROMs and software. These resources may be obtained via
Lehigh’s Interlibrary Loan.
ASA should be the first place to look for
items with information on your and/or related topics. An example is the
need to look for statistics on population in a geographic area. There are
resources listed in ASA that can answer that question. Remember: Use ASA
to locate books, journals, A-V materials, and CD-ROMs. Journal articles
are NOT indexed in ASA or WorldCat.
General
Resources
-
Michigan State University - Center for International
Business Education and Research. Its URL is http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp.
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Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers
has a good resource called Business Information Resources on the Internet.
Its URL is http://www.pasbdc.org/Pages/busindex.html.
-
Small business sourcebook.
658.022/S6353/FM-1-Ref. This is a good resource for business information
on small business.
Industry
Information
These resources can be used to locate
information on industries. This may be important for the client to know
because this can either heighten and/or lower expectations.
These expectations can be for a membership campaign, an advertising blitz,
etc., for that particular organization. They are:
-
Associations
Unlimited. This is also available in print and its title is Encyclopedia
of Associations. Its call number is 061.3/G152e/FM-1-R-Ref.
-
Business
and Company Resource Center. This resource has statistics, trade
journal articles, and association information on industries.
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Investext.
It has analyst reports covering more than 11,000 U.S. and international
companies and 53 industries. These reports come from top Wall Street and
international brokerage firms. This is available by following the directions
for the Journal Index section, then click on Investext, click on
"Proceed" button and click on the "Start searching this collection" under
the Investext heading.
-
North American industry classification
system, United States. 317.3/U588sa/FM-1-R-Ref. This is available in
print or on the WWW. Its URLs are http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naicstab.htm
or http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.
-
Standard Industrial Classification Manual.
317.3/U5852/1987/Ref. This resource is available in print and on the WWW.
The URL's for the manual is http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html.
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Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys.
338/S781I/FM-1-Ref (On Reserve). Analyzes specific industries on quarterly
basis. Trends, financial information, and industry data are available.
Earlier volumes are available in the stacks back to 1976.
-
Value Line. 332.6/V215/FM-1-Ref (On
Reserve). Includes quantitative and qualitative information for industry
and company. It rates the companies’ stock as a buy, sell or hold. Back
issues are available on fiche from 1980 at Fairchild Library.
-
Journal
indexes list articles on industries. See the Journal Index section
for a listing of indexes.
Industry
Ratios
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Almanac of Business and Financial Ratios.
338.973/T864/FM-1-Ref. Annual with earlier editions in the stacks.
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Dow
Jones Interactive. Company Information Center on DJI has this information.
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Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios.
338.5/I42/FM-1-Ref. Latest on Reserve with earlier editions in the stacks.
Produced by Dun and Bradstreet.
-
RMA Annual Statement Studies.
338/R642/FM-1-Ref. Annual with earlier editions in the stacks. Produced
by Robert Morris Associates
Statistical
Indexes
These items list sources where statistics
can be located. They are:
-
American Statistics Index. 310.016/C749a/Ref.
Covers statistics printed by the Federal Government. The library has many
of these publications and some are listed in ASA.
-
Index to International Statistics.
Washington, Congressional Information Service. 310.016/I38/FM-1-Ref. Covers
international statistics. Available on fiche since 1987 at the Fairchild
Library.
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Statistical Reference Index. 317.3016/S797/Ref.
Covers statistics printed by non-Federal Government agencies, i.e., associations,
commercial publishers, states, etc. Available on fiche since 1980 at Fairchild
Library.
-
Statistical
Universe. This is an index of statistics that were previously published
in the print indexes that are listed above. Also this is compilation of
statistics from a variety of sources some of which are available in print
and/or on the fiche at Fairchild Library. NOTE: Web version does not have
all of the statistics that are available in print. Its URL is http://www.lexis-nexis.com/statuniv.
General
Statistical Resources
The listed resources will give statistics
on industries, general economy and population. These are:
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Business Statistics of the United States.
338.09/B976a/FM-1-Ref. Biennial publication with the cumulation of statistical
data for series appearing the Survey of current business from 1947
to year prior to publication.
-
Demographics USA (ZIP ed.). 658.8/D383/FM-1-Ref.
This provides statistics on population (including age and sex), effective
buying income, employment by industry and retail sales. This is by Zip
code.
-
Sales & Marketing Management. Back
issues are on microfilm and current issues are in print and shelved in
Fairchild Library. This publication has special issues on various topics,
i.e., buying power and media markets. Good source for the population and
buying power of the states and their counties. Its URL is http://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/cgi-bin/pubid?Pub=28583.
-
Statistical Abstract of the United States.
317.2/U58s/FM-1-RRef. Latest edition is in Ready Reference with earlier
editions in the stacks. Its URL is http://www.census.gov/statab/www/.
-
STAT-USA.
See
World Wide Web for a description.
-
Survey of Current Business. C59.11/1.
This is received monthly and is shelved at Fairchild Library. Its URLs
are http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/pubs.htm
or http://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/cgi-bin/pubid?Pub=28352.
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World Almanac. 317.3/W927/FM-1-R-Ref.
Quick source of information that will give the answer and/or provides information
on where to find the answer.
Company
and Stock Information
These resources can be use for information
about the company's profitability, information on its charitable foundation's
name and address, etc. These include:
-
Annual Reports and 10-K Reports. Reports are
for the Fortune 500 going back to 1979 for the annual reports. The 10-K
reports are available for the past few years through 1997.
-
Business
and Company Resource Center. Includes information on financials, company
history, and investment reports.
-
Company/brand$. 659.1/C737/ M-1-REF.
This contains statistics on advertising dollars spent by a given company
on its individual products across the various media. NOTE: We have the
1998 statistics
-
Dow
Jones Interactive. The Company and Industry Center has the information
from the annual reports and the 10-K's.
-
Handbook of common stocks (Formerly
Moody's
Handbook of Common Stocks). 332.6/M817si/FM-1-Ref. Reports on over
2000 stocks.
-
Journal Indexes have articles on companies.
-
Lexis
Nexis Universe. See World Wide Web for description
-
Mergent Manuals.
(Formerly Moody's). 332.6/M817a/FM-1-Ref. Financial data on companies
including income statements balance sheets and company history. There are
six (6) parts: Bank and Finance, Industrials, Municipals and Government,
Over the Counter, Public Utilities and Transportation. Earlier editions
located in the stacks.
-
SEC Edgar Database.
This has the 10-K reports from publicly traded companies. Available via
the Dow Jones Interactive and Securities and Exchange Commission. Its URL
is http://www.sec.gov/.
-
Standard & Poor's stock reports: New
York Stock Exchange. 332.6/S785sta/FM-1-Ref.
Covers on companies on the NYSE.
-
Value Line. See Industry Information
section for description.
Journal
Indexes
Locating articles with quantitative and
qualitative information on companies and industries may be found using
these indexes. Also, the articles may have information on companies, local
governments, local organizations, and past campaigns. To access them, click
on the Libraries' button (located on the upper right of the homepage),
then click on Electronic Resources, then click on Databases. (URL is
http://www.lehigh.edu/~inref/databases/index.html).
They are:
-
ABI-Inform.
Indexes over 1400 journals in management and business. Coverage is from
1987 for most journals. About 45% of the articles are available in full
text.
-
Accounting and Tax Index. Available
only
in print and is shelved in Index Section, Reference, Fairchild Library.
Formerly called the Accountant's Index, Supplement.
-
Business
and Company Resource Center. Has trade journal articles on companies
and industries.
-
Dow
Jones Publications Library. Available on the DJInteractive via
the Web. Covers over 6000 publications (full text) back to early 1980's.
-
Econlit.
A good index for the research journals that cover company information from
a research perspective.
-
InfoTrac
(a.k.a. Expanded Academic Index).
Covers over 1400 journal going back to 1980. Some articles are available
in full text.
-
Lexis
Nexis Universe. Provides full
text of journals, newspapers, and wire services relating to business information.
It also has full text legal materials such court decisions, legislation
and regulations. The service is available via the Web. (See the WWW for
more information).
-
Periodical
Abstracts. Covers over 1800 journals in a variety of subject areas
with some available in full text.
World
Wide Web
Using a search engine, i.e., AltaVista,
Infoseek, etc., you will find information that may be useful. There are
(but not limited to) government, associations, companies and individuals
that have home pages. They provide facts, figures, and reports that may
be important to your research. When searching on the Web, be sure to use
a number of search engines. There are multi-search engines that search
other search engines. Dogpile.com is an example of these multi-search
engines. Its URL is http://www.dogpile.com.
These will make searching the Web more efficient as it will search AltaVista,
Magellan, etc., to locate needed resources. An example would be a search
for company home pages listing information on the company and/or product.
Remember: anyone can put up a web page with information. Is the information
on the web page reliable?
Statistical Resources on the Web are:
-
Lexis
Nexis Universe. This database has sections entitled Industry &
Market News and Company Financial Information.
-
STAT-USA.
This is a compendium of government statistical information on the Web.
It gives information on general economic conditions in the United States,
i.e., Consumer Price Index and Leading Economic Indicators. This compendium
contains on the National Trade Data Bank. This gives information on foreign
trade statistics of the U.S., trade opportunities and information on a
foreign country’s rules and regulations.
These are additional sites for statistics
on the economy, population, etc., from the Federal Government. They are:
-
Bureau of Economic Analysis. Its URL is http://www.bea.doc.gov/.
-
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its URL is http://www.bls.gov/.
-
Federal Statistics site. Its URL is http://www.fedstats.gov/.
-
Securities and Exchange Commission. Its URL
is http://www.sec.gov/.
-
U.S. Census Bureau. Its URL is http://www.census.gov/.
There are other resources available on the
Web and in print. (Note some web resources have print versions while others
are only available in print).
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Acxiom Phone Directory (businesses).
-
Acxiom Phone Directory (homes).
-
American Demographics/Marketing Tools. This
is a source for demographic information. Its URL is http://www.marketingtools.com/.
-
American Express. A good source of information
for small business including a business plan section. Its URL is http://www.americanexpress.com/homepage/smallbusiness.shtml.
-
Local Business Journals. Use the following
to locate articles from 41 local business journals. Its URL is http://bizjournals.bcentral.com/.
-
FinanceHub: Venture capital on the Web. Its
URL is http://www.financehub.com/.
-
GPO Monthly Catalog (U.S. government
publications). Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Documents (print version).
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Grocery Manufacturers of America. This is
an example of the many industrial organizations, associations and other
groups. Many can be located in Associations Unlimited (see #3).
Its URL Is http://www.gmabrands.com/.
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Salary.com. This site is a good site for locating
salaries of occupations and geographic areas. It does not have employment
figures. Use this in conjunction with the Occupational Employment and
Wage Estimates that is put out by the Federal Government (See the Government
Resources section, #6). Its URL is http://www.salary.com/home/layoutscripts/sall_home.asp.
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Standard Directory of Advertisers.
659.112/S7852/Ref.
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Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies.
659.112/S785/Ref.
-
Zack's Earnings Estimates. Gives information
on earnings estimate, buy, sell, or hold recommendations on a particular
stock, and stock prices. URL is http://www.zacks.com/.
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Resource pages from Northeastern University
(Boston, Mass.) concerning business and economics. The URL is http://www.lib.neu.edu/nulis/subjects/business.htm
or http://www.lib.neu.edu/nulis/subjects/economics.htm.
There are more resource pages from various entities, example: universities
and societies that can assist in locating information.
Government
Resources
The Federal Government and Pennsylvania
publish a variety of statistics that can help with your projects. Listed
below are resources that may have useful statistics. NOTE: There
are more resources listed in the WWW Section. The Federal Government publishes
the items, numbered 1-7, and Pennsylvania publishes the ones, numbered
8-12. They are:
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Area Trends in Employment and Unemployment.
331.112/U581a/FM-2-DOC-R. Excellent source for employment figures.
-
County Business Patterns C 3.204/4:
995-96/FM-2-DOC-R. Available on CD-ROM and in print. Gives business and
employment information by county and business category. It is also available
on the web. Its URL is http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html.
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BLS RELEASES 2000-2010 EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS.
An excellent source of employment projections for the first decade of this
century. Its URL is http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.nr0.htm.
One section of this publication is entitled Economic and Employment Projections.
Its URL is http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.toc.htm.
Another section that may be of interest is the "Employment by occupation,
2000 and projected 2010" ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/ep/ind-occ.matrix/MLRTab2.txt
-
National Compensation Survey. (Also known
as Area wage surveys). L2.121/38: /FM-2-DOC. Surveys the local salary and
wage base for various occupations. Available at this URL http://stats.bls.gov/compub.htm
and in print.
-
REIS (computer file): Regional Economic
Information System. C59.24:969-98/CD.
Contains valuable information on local area. Remember: Information may
be dated.
-
SPI: State Personal Income, 1929-1997.
C59.25:929-97. Available on CD-ROM.
-
Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates.
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dept. of Labor. It gives information
on local employment and wage scales on a national, state and metropolitan
area. A good source for wage cost estimates. Its URL is: http://stats.bls.gov/oes/oes_data.htm.
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Small Business Administration. Its URL is
http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/.
-
Local Government Financial Statistics.
PCA 1.138/4:1997. Provides financial information on local governments including
taxation, indebtedness, and expenditures. This item is located in the state
area of the Government Documents section, Fairchild Martindale Library.
Available only in print.
-
Pennsylvania Abstract. 317.48/P415a/FM-1-Ref.
A compendium of statistics concerning Pennsylvania. Includes population,
economic, and social statistics.
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(Pennsylvania) Employment & Wages by
County and Industry, 1997. PL67.20/8/6/:269. This item is located in
the state area of the Government Documents section, Fairchild Martindale
Library. Available only in print.
-
PLF Pennsylvania Labor Force.
PL 194.17/3: This item is located in the state area of the Government Documents
section, Fairchild Martindale Library. Available only in print.
-
Wages and Income. PL67.17/4/6/P415.
Provides information on earnings, per capita, and CPI information. This
item is located in the state area of the Government Documents section,
Fairchild Martindale Library. Available only in print.
The Library has created a web page for government
information including Federal, state, local and international materials.
It is called Government Information at Lehigh University Library. Its URL
is: http://www.Lehigh.EDU/~inlib/govdocs/.
This is an excellent starting point for locating statistical and other
relevant material for research on a topic.
Local
Resources for Information
There are a variety of resources that
can information as you do the research for the client. These include (but
not limited to):
-
Alumni Directories and Associations.
-
Bus Companies, i.e., Local Tour Companies.
-
Chambers of Commerce Bethlehem Area Chamber
of Commerce.
-
County and local governments: Lehigh County,
Northampton County, City of Bethlehem (Its URL is http://www.cityofbethlehem.org/).
-
Financial Resources. A resource to locate
funding in the Lehigh Valley. Its URL is http://www.lehighvalleyfinancing.org.
-
Lehigh Valley Business Network. This is a
local web site providing professional, customized web presence for small
businesses. Its URL is http://www.lvbiznet.com/.
-
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation
(LVEDC) is a private, non-profit corporation created in 1995 by the Lehigh
Valley Partnership (LVP), a consortium of regional business owners and
executives with county and municipal government leaders as ex officio members.
Its URL is http://www.lehighvalley.org/about.html
.
-
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (Formerly
the Joint Planning Commission). Its URL is http://www.lvpc.org/.
-
LVIP, Inc., (Lehigh Valley Industrial Park,
Inc.). Its URL is http://lvip.org/.
-
Local Arts Organizations.
-
Local public libraries: Allentown Public Library,
Bethlehem Area Public Library (Its URL is http://www.bapl.org),
Easton Area Public Library.
-
Local statistics: Web and print http://www.lehighvalley.org/demo.html.
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NASIRE represents information resource executives
and managers from the 50 states, six U.S. territories, and the District
of Columbia. State members are senior officials from any of the three branches
of state government who have statewide, executive-level responsibility
for information resource management. NASIRE associate members are any other
state officials and federal, local and international government officials
who are involved in information resource management. Private-sector firms
and non-profit organizations may join as corporate members. Its URL is
https://www.nascio.org/.
-
Pennsylvania's home page. Its URL is http://www.state.pa.us/.
-
Redevelopment (or Economic) Authorities of
states, counties, cities, boroughs, etc.: Northampton County Development
Corporation; Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation (its URL is http://www.cityofbethlehem.org/busin_bedco.htm).
-
RegionOnline Lehigh Valley Web site URL is
http://www.lehighvalleyNOW.com/rol/default.asp.
-
Small business development centers of the
state, counties and cities: Lehigh University's Small Business Development
Center (URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/~insbdc/).
-
Team Pennsylvania CareerLink. URL is http://www.pacareerlink.state.pa.us/onestop/teampa.asp.
This now includes the Private Industry Council. For more information, you
can contact them at this phone number, (610) 437-5627.
-
Tourism Bureaus: Bethlehem Tourism Authority,
Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc.
A
Final Thought
THINK beyond this campus. This means contacting
local governments, economic development authorities, and chambers of commerce.
Where do you fine these? In the LOCAL Telephone Book! You may have
to leave campus to meet with these groups.
Created on 1/29/02 by
W. Fincke, Business Librarian.
Office: Rm. 632,
Fairchild-Martindale Library.
Hours: Mon.-Wed, Fri. 8-Noon,
Thurs., 1-5.
Office: Rm. 341,
Rauch Business Center.
Hours: Mon.-Wed., Fri.,
12:30-4:30, Thurs. 8-Noon.
Phone: 83052
Email: wjf0@lehigh.edu
URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/~inref/guides/guides.html