REFERENCE SOURCES

GENERAL

Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries [R.R. HD2324 .E528 2007]
Provides industry snapshots, organization and structure, background and development, current conditions, industry leaders, research & technology, and more.

Business: The Ultimate Reference [R.R. HD38.15 .B878 2002]
The volume provides practical business information from the world's leading business leaders. It offers solutions to everyday business problems, summarizes the most influential business books of all time, profiles management thinkers and pioneers, and provides information about business sources. Especially of interest: Considering Whether to Start a Small Business checklist (p. 538), Writing a Business Plan (p. 486), Getting Competitive Intelligence (p. 704), and Branding a Business Product (p. 712).

Encyclopedia of Small Business 2v. [R.R. HD62.7 .H553 1998]
Basic A-Z reference that contains articles for topics such as advertising, business start-ups, financing, franchising, Internet commerce, etc.

Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd Ed. 2v. [R.R. HF1001 .E466 2000]
Good basic all around reference for business topics.

21st Century Management 2v. [R.R. HD30.4 .A16 2008]

Encyclopedia of African American Business 2v. [R.R. HD2358.5 .U6 E53 2006]

Encyclopedia of American Women in Business 2v. [R.R. HD6054.4 .U6 K753 2004]

Business Leader Profiles for Students [R.R. HD38.25 .U6 B8 1999]

Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society 5v. [R.R. HF5387 .E53 2008]

The Non-Profit Sector: A Research Handbook, 2nd Ed. [R.R. HD626 .N67 2006]

NAICS Desk Reference [R.R. HF1041.5 .N35 2000]
North American Industry Classification System - what it is, how it works. If you are interested in the official manual, it can be found in the government documents reference area under PREX 2.6/2:IN27/2002.

Note: http://www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html is a very useful website for locating NAICS codes. Use the "2007 NAICS Search" button in the upper left hand corner and type in the industry you are researching.

DIRECTORIES

Fact Book: The Directory of Business in Minnesota [R.R. HG5127 .C66 2007]
Contains business rankings, company profiles, stock performances, top officers, web sites, and much more.

Strauss's Handbook of Business Information: A Guide for Librarians, Students, and Researchers [R.R. HF1010 .M67 2004]
This book explains how to find basic business reference sources such as guides, directories, government information sources, statistics, etc. in print and on the Internet.

Encyclopedia of Associations, 45th Ed. 3v. [Ready Ref. AS22 .E5 45th 2008]
A directory of more than 22,000 national and international organizations with descriptions and contact information. Includes trade, business and commercial, legal, environmental, technological, cultural, etc. organizations and associations. A good place to search for organizations that can provide information about a particular product, service or industry. Trade publications published by organizations listed as well.

Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources, 22nd Ed. [R.R. HF5351 .E5 22nd 2007]

The Directory of Business Information Resources, 10th Ed. [R.R. HD2421 .B875 2002]
Similar to the Encyclopedia of Associations but limited to business resources.

The United States Government Internet Manual [Ready Ref. ZA5075 .N68 2004-05]

CUSTOMERS

Best Customers: Demographics of Customer Demand [R.R. HC79 .C6 R87 2005]
Contains information about consumer trends and spending for hundreds of products and services.

American Generations: Who they are. How they live. What they think
[R.R. HC110 .C6 M545 1998]
Contains charts and demographic information that have a bearing on what is important to consumers form several different generations. Covers Millenials, Generation Xers, Baby Boomers, the Swing Generation and the WWII Generation.

Customer Culture: A Reference Handbook [R.R. HC79 .C6 G665 2004]
Theoretical background on consumerism.

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

Dictionary of Marketing Terms [R.R. HF5415 .D4874 1995]
A basic dictionary of vocabulary used in the marketing world.

Encyclopedia of Advertising 3v. [R.R. HF5803 .A38 2003]
International in scope, this resource covers advertising agency histories, advertiser/brand histories, biographies, and theoretical and practical aspects of advertising such as use of the media, persuasion, package design, and many different aspects of advertising practice.

Major Marketing Campaigns Annual [R.R. HF5837 .M35 1998]
A little out of date but a good source for ideas.

The Brand Glossary [R.R. HD69 .B7 B723 2007]

Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands 3v. [R.R. HF5415.3 .E527 1994]
A compendium of consumer brands from A&W to Zippo: volume 1 is devoted to consumable products; volume 2 to personal products; and volume 3 to durable goods. Articles contain information on the origins and development of the brand, marketing strategies, history of the brand, brand extensions, and outlooks for the future.

STATISTICS

Statistical Abstracts of the United States, 126th Ed. [Ready Ref: C 3.134:2007]
A compilation of statistics gathered by the U.S. government. See sections on business enterprise; income, expenditures and wealth; prices; domestic trade; arts; entertainment and recreation; accommodation, food services, and other services.

Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics: Employment, Earnings, Prices, Productivity, and Other Labor Data [R.R. HD8051 .H36 10th 2007]

Business Statistics of the United States: Patterns of Economic Change, 10th Ed. [R.R. HC101 .A13122 2007]
Chapter 3: Income Distribution & Poverty; and Chapter 4: Consumer Income & Spending may be particularly helpful.

American Incomes: Demographics of Who Has Money [R.R. HC110 .I5 2005]

CQ's State Fact Finder 2006 [R.R. HA214 .C68 2007]
Find statistics relating to the labor force, taxes, graduation rates, broadband availability, high tech employment, households with computers, etc.

TIME Almanac 2008 [R.R. AY64 .I432 2008]

BOOKS                                 

You may search the catalog by clicking on the icon above. While you may want to start searching BRIDGE by keyword, sooner or later you will want to search using Library of Congress Subject Headings. You can do an initial search using keywords, look at promising items, and then use the subjects headings you find on those records. Or, you can begin with subject headings. Here is a list of subjects that will help you get started:

Most of these subject headings have subheadings, so be sure to browse the list to see what looks best for your topic.

To locate books, journals and magazines not available at St. Olaf or Carleton, try searching WorldCat. WorldCat catalogs items in libraries across the country and around the world. You can request items through Inter-Library loan from here or check to see if something is available in a library nearby.

INDEXES AND DATABASES

(Use Business Searching Interface). Indexes approximately 3,800 business journals with full text for over 1,000 publications. Contains Datamonitor company profiles, SWOT analyses, and tools to hone in on particular kinds of information such as industry overviews, company reports, interviews, product reviews, etc.

Excellent source for full-text articles in national and international newspapers. LexisNexis also provides business news, company financial reports, company profiles, patents, SEC filings and reports, and a limited number of securities reports.

Business Periodicals Index [Paper index: R.R. HF5001 .B9: 1958-present]

Indexes over 345 leading business magazines. Subjects include accounting, banking, economics, communications, finance, government regulations, insurance, investments, marketing, personnel, retail trade, small business, taxation, specific businesses, specific industries, and specific trades.

What if the article is not full text online?

Some databases contain a combination of full-text articles and citations to articles that you will need to track down in paper (e.g. Business Source Premier). Simply click the  button and you will be offered a series of choices. First, you can click on the "Go" button next to Holdings in Bridge and search the online catalog to see if St. Olaf or Carleton have paper copies of the journal. If you do not find the journal in Bridge, you can use the next option on the list and request the article through (ILLiad), the Interlibrary Loan service.

Older periodicals are located on level 3-1/2 and 4 of Rolvaag. Pre-1970 periodicals are located on level 1 of Rolvaag.

WHAT MAJOR BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS CAN I FIND AT ST. OLAF?

St. Olaf subscribes to the following periodicals that will help with your weekly reports. Browse the latest issues in the new periodicals area on level 4 of Rolvaag:

Some publications are also available online, although they may not contain every article that appears in the hard copy edition:

Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/
Entrepreneur: http://www.entrepreneur.com
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/
Fortune: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/
Inc: http://www.inc.com/

WEB SITES

Minnesota Small Business Assistance Office
http://www.mnsbao.com/
This site is managed by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Click on the "Facts and Figures" link and then go to the Business and Economic Development Analysis page to see reports on the business climate in Minnesota. Click "Publications", then "Guide to Starting a Business in Minnesota".

Minnesota Secretary of State
http://www.sos.state.mn.us
Click on "Business Center" for access to business forms and business name searching.

United States Small Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov/
Click on the "Small Business Planner" or chose "Advocacy" from the drop down. The Advocacy link will give you access to business information in the "Research and Statistics".

Business.gov
http://www.business.gov/
A collaborative effort managed by the U.S. Small Business Administration, this site focuses on how to launch, manage, and grow a business. Also provides help in managing government regulations. Click "Data & Statistics" for a wealth of business information. Click "Advertising and Marketing" for "Small Business Guide to Market Research".

American Factfinder
http:factfinder.census.gov
Source for population, housing, economic and geographic data.

United States Patent and Trademark Office
http://www.uspto.gov
You can search for patents and trademarks from this site as well as get basic background information on what patents and trademarks are and how they work. Remember you can also search for patents in LexisNexis Academic.

Google recently put up a patent searching site that you may want to explore. It makes searching for patents somewhat easier: http://www.google.com/patents

Bureau of Labor Statistics
http://www.bls.gov/
A good place to go for up-to-date information about consumer spending, productivity, business costs, employment costs, employment/unemployment and other demographics.

Business Statistics at the Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/
Click on the "Business" link from the Census Bureau home page.

Libraries in the Twin Cities to know about: