Selected Resources
GECO 492
Fall 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:
    1. ASA, The Library’s Online Catalog. This lists all the items in the library and their location. This resource is available on the WWW.
    2. 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. (There are now full text articles available on this database on a LIMITED basis.)
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. Generally, journal articles are not indexed in ASA or WorldCat.

General Resources
    1. Michigan State University. Center for International Business Education and Research. Its URL is http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp.
    2. 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.
    3. Small business sourcebook.  658.022/S6353/FM-1-Ref. A good resource of business information for 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:
    1. 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.
    2. Business and Company Resource Center. This resource has statistics, trade journal articles, and association information on industries.
    3. Investext. It has analyst reports covering more than 11,000 U.S. and international companies and 53 industries. These reports come from Wall Street and international brokerage firms.
    4. 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 .
    5. 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
    6. 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.
    7. 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.
    8. Journal indexes list articles on industries. See the Journal Index section for a listing of indexes.

Industry Ratios
    1. Almanac of Business and Financial Ratios. 338.973/T864/FM-1-Ref. This is an annual with earlier editions in the stacks.
    2. RMA Annual Statement Studies. 338/R642/FM-1-Ref. This is an annual with earlier editions in the stacks. Produced by Robert Morris Associates.
    3. Dow Jones Interactive. Company Information Center on DJI has this information.
    4. Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios. 338.5/I42/FM-1-Ref. The latest edition is on Reserve with earlier editions in the stacks. Produced by Dun and Bradstreet.

Statistical Indexes
These items list sources where statistics can be located. They are:
    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Lexis Nexis Statistical. This is an index of statistics that were previously published in the print indexes that are listed above. Also this is a 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.
    4. Statistical Reference Index. 317.3016/S797/Ref. Covers statistics printed by non-Federal Government agencies, i.e., associations, commercial publishers, states, etc. This is available on fiche since 1980 at Fairchild Library.

General Statistical Resources
The listed resources will give statistics on industries, general economy and population. These are:
    1. Business Statistics of the United States. 338.09/B976a/FM-1-Ref. Biennial publication with the cumulation of statistical data for statistical series that appear in the Survey of current business from 1947 to year prior to publication.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. Standard Directory of Advertisers. 659.112/S7852/FM-1-Ref.
    5. Standard Directory of Advertising Agencies. 659.112/S785/FM-1-Ref.
    6. 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/
    7. STAT-USA. This is a compendium of government statistical information on the Web. It is available through the Article Abstracts and Databases on the Virtual Library. 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
    8. 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.
    9. 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:
    1. 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.
    2. Business and Company Resource Center. Includes information on financials, company history, and investment reports.
    3. Dow Jones Interactive.  The Company and Industry Center has the information from the annual reports and the 10-K's.
    4. Factiva. Its Company Quick Search covers company news and financial information.
    5. Handbook of common stocks (Formerly Moody's Handbook of Common Stocks). 332.6/M817si/FM-1-Ref). Reports on over 2000 stocks.
    6. Lexis Nexis. See journal indexes section for description.
    7. Mergent Manuals (Formerly Moody's). 332.6/M817a/FM-1-Ref. This has 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.
    8. SEC Edgar Database. This has the 10-K reports from publicly traded companies. This is available via the Dow Jones Interactive and Securities and Exchange Commission. Its URL is http://www.sec.gov/.
    9. Standard & Poor's stock reports: New York Stock Exchange. 332.6/S785sta/FM-1-Ref. Coverage includes companies that are on the NYSE.
    10. 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 or type in this URL http://www.lehigh.edu/~inlts/lib/databases/main.html). They are:
    1. 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.
    2. Accounting and Tax Index. Available only in print and is shelved in Index Section, Reference, Fairchild Library. Formerly called the Accountant's Index, Supplement.
    3. Business and Company Resource Center. Has trade journal articles on companies and industries.
    4. Dow Jones Publications Library.  Covers over 6000 publications (full text) back to early 1980's. (This will be available until 12/31/02.)
    5. Econlit. A good index for the research journals that cover company information from a research perspective.
    6. Factiva. Covers over 8000 publications (full text) back to early 1980's. This is the replacement for Dow Jones.
    7. InfoTrac (a.k.a. Expanded Academic Index). Covers over 1400 journal going back to 1980. Some articles are available in full text.
    8. Lexis Nexis. 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. This database has sections entitled Industry & Market News and Company Financial Information.
    9. NBER Working Papers. A good source for research papers on a variety of economic topics.
    10. 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?

These sites have statistics on the economy, population, etc., from the Federal Government. They are:

    1. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Its URL is http://www.bea.doc.gov/.
    2. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Its URL is http://www.bls.gov/.
    3. Federal Statistics site. Its URL is http://www.fedstats.gov/.
    4. Securities and Exchange Commission. Its URL is http://www.sec.gov/.
    5. 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).
    1. American Demographics/Marketing Tools. This is a source for demographic information. Its URL is http://www.inside.com/default.asp?entity=AmericanDemo.
    2. American Express. This is a good source of information for small business including a business plan section. Its URL is http://home3.americanexpress.com/smallbusiness/Landing/informyourdecisions.asp?open_home=informbhead.
    3. financehub.com.  This resource has information on locating financial resources on the web. Its URL is http://www.financehub.com/
    4. 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/.
    5. Local Business Journals. Use the following to locate articles from 41 local business journals. Its URL is http://www.bizjournals.com.
    6. Salary.com. This site is a good site for locating salaries of occupations and geographic areas. It does not have employment figures. The Federal Government (See the Government Resources section, #5) puts out the Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates that can be use in conjunction with this. Its URL is http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp.
    7. Thomas register of American manufacturers. 605.8 T463/FM-1-Ref. Its URL is http://www.thomasregister.com/.
    8. 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/.
    9. Resource pages from Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) concerning business and economics. The URL is http://www.lib.neu.edu/nulis/subjects/business/  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 1-8, and Pennsylvania publishes the ones, numbered 9-13. They are:
    1. Area Trends in Employment and Unemployment. 331.112/U581a/FM-2-DOC-R. Excellent source for employment figures.
    2. County Business Patterns. C 3.204/4: . 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.
    3. GPO Monthly Catalog (U.S. government publications) Monthly Catalog of U.S. Government Documents (print version).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. REIS (computer file): Regional Economic Information System. C59.24:969-98/CD. Contains valuable information on local area. Remember: Information may be dated.
    7. SPI: State Personal Income, 1929-1997. C59.25:929-97. Available on CD-ROM.
    8. Small Business Administration. Its URL is http://www.sbaonline.sba.gov/.
    9. 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.
    10. Pennsylvania Abstract. 317.48/P415a/FM-1-Ref. A compendium of statistics concerning Pennsylvania. Includes population, economic, and social statistics.
    11. (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.
    12. 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.
    13. 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):
    1. Alumni Directories and Associations.
    2. Bus Companies, i.e., Local Tour Companies
    3. Chambers of Commerce Bethlehem Area Chamber of Commerce. Commerce (Its URL is http://bethlehemchamber.org/.)
    4. County and local governments: Lehigh County, Northampton County, City of Bethlehem. (Its URL is http://www.cityofbethlehem.org/.)
    5. Digitalcity.com. A source to locate businesses in the Lehigh Valley and/or nationally. Its URL is http://www.digitalcity.com/.
    6. Financial Resources. A resource to locate funding in the Lehigh Valley. Its URL is http://www.lehighvalleyfinancing.org.
    7. 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/.
    8. 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.
    9. LVIP, Inc., (Lehigh Valley Industrial Park, Inc.). Its URL is http://lvip.org/.
    10. Lehigh Valley Planning Commission (Formerly the Joint Planning Commission). Its URL is http://www.lvpc.org/.
    11. Local Arts Organizations.
    12. Local Maps (detailed) of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area.
    13. Local public libraries: Allentown Public Library, Bethlehem Area Public Library (URL is http://www.bapl.org/.), and Easton Area Public Library.
    14. Local statistics: URL is http://www.lehighvalley.org/demo.html for demographic and economic info. This is from the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation. Also the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has local statistics
    15. 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/.
    16. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's home page: http://www.state.pa.us/.
    17. 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).
    18. RegionOnline. Lehigh Valley Web site URL is http://www.lehighvalleyNOW.com/rol/default.asp.
    19. Small business development centers of the state, counties and cities: Lehigh University's Small Business Development Center (URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/~insbdc/.)
    20. 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.
    21. Tourism Bureaus: Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Inc. Its URL is http://www.lehighvalleypa.org/.
Here are some examples of information resources (and their URLs) for the metropolitan areas.  They are
    1. Census information from the Federal Government.  URL is http://www.census.gov/census2000/states/us.html.
    2. The state URLs are include New York at http://www.state.ny.us/, Ohio at http://www.state.oh.us/, and Pennsylvania at http://www.state.pa.us/.
    3. An example of  local source for Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY is the Capital District Planning Commission.   Its URL is http://www.cdrpc.org/.
    4. An example of economic development for Wilmington/Newark, Delaware is the Wilmington Economic Development Corporation (WEDCO).  Its URL is http://www.wedco.org/.

A Final Thought
THINK beyond this campus. This means contacting local governments, economic development authorities, and chambers of commerce. Where do you find these? In the LOCAL Telephone Book! You may have to leave campus to meet with these groups.


Off Campus Library Services/Off Campus Connections/ISP Proxy Server
Whether you are residing off-campus locally, commuting to Lehigh, or taking distance education courses, the Libraries offer a variety of services to make your research easier. Most of these services are limited to Lehigh faculty, staff and students. The URL for the off campus library services page is http://www.lehigh.edu/~inlts/lib/guides/distance_ed.html. Included is information on the Proxy Server. This explains the how to of setting up your computer when you have a non-Lehigh ISP provider. Its URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/~inlts/lib/guides/proxy.html. Here are additional documents that may be of interest to you.  They are
 
    1. Other documents include the Lehigh Off-Campus Networking. Its URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/~ludoc/offcampus/newdocs/.
    2. Using Fast.Net as your Internet Service Provider (ISP) http://www.lehigh.edu/~ludoc/offcampus/newdocs/fastnet.html. (This is related to the documents in the Technology Fee Information Section.)


Technology Fee Information
Lehigh has initiated a technology fee program that has a number of options. The documents that are listed below provide information concerning the technology fee and those who are eligible. Please review and contact the Help Desk if you have questions at 610-758-4357. The documents are:
    1. Student Technology Fee Frequently Asked Questions. Its URL is http://www.Lehigh.EDU/newtech/.
    2. Lehigh University Student Fastnet Dialin Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This page describes the arrangements between Lehigh and Fastnet for STUDENTS who have paid the technology fee and live off-campus. Only those part-time students who have paid the technology fee are eligible. Its URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/helpdesk/fastnet2.html.
    3. Lehigh University Faculty/Staff Fastnet Deal Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Lehigh University faculty and staff and retired faculty and staff. What about students? Students are eligible to participate if they wish, but this program is not primarily intended for students.  Its URL is http://www.lehigh.edu/helpdesk/fastnet.html.

Footnoting
A style guide is available at this URL: http://www.lehigh.edu/~inhelp/factotem/cmos.html.


Created on 9/11/02 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