Business Reference
LSC 539
Fall, 2003
Dr. Donna L. Gilton
9 Rodman Hall
(401)874-4630
LSC
539 is designed to introduce students to business information and to business
reference services and will concentrate on the following areas:
- unique aspects of the
business world, business information, and business
librarianship
- basic research on companies,
industries, and business topics
- government publications,
statistics, and legal information related to business
- financial information on
companies and industries
- investment information
- specialized information on
marketing, accounting, and other subjects
The information will be covered through class lectures, exercises, and a term project in which students will analyze a company and suggest basic resources for an information center within that company. After finishing the course, students will be able to find detailed, specific, and extensive information on companies, industries, and other business topics.
Relevance of LSC 539 to Other Courses and to the Field
1. It is a necessary course for
all future business librarians, as well as for information entrepreneurs who
will specialize in business.
2. It is an important and
useful course for students who will be reference librarians in general public
or academic collections. A large percentage of reference questions in general
reference departments are business questions.
3. The course will complement
information conveyed in other LSC courses, such as Law Librarianship,
Government Publications, and Library Materials in the Social Sciences. It will
describe unique aspects of business information and services and describe
business reference sources in greater depth than other sources.
Required Text
Burwell,
Helen. Online Competitive Intelligence:
Increase Your Profits Using
Cyber-Intelligence.
Tempe, AZ:
Facts on Demand Press, 1999.
Optional
Texts
Pagell, Ruth A. and Michael
Halperin. International Business
Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1994
(On reserve)
Gorman, Tom. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to MBA Basics. NY:
Simon and Schuster, 1998 (On reserve)
Lavin, Michael. Business Information: How to Find It, How to
Use It. 2nd. Ed. Phoeniz, AZ: Oryx Press, 1992 Ref HF 5356.L36
1992
Other Readings to be
Assigned
Assignments
– Choose a public company and at least one industry to focus on for the
course.
Mini-Projects
(to ultimately be part of the Term Project) – 45% of course grade
- Exercises on the Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) and other business
Classification systems to find industry statistics
and news and to find names of
potential suppliers, customers, and competitors
- A brief company profile
– a description of your company’s history, organization, lines of business, plants, sales,
offices, subsidiaries, etc.
- A list of relevant trade or
professional organizations and government agencies
- A comparison of how your
company is treated in the annual report, the 10K report, Moody’s, Standard and
Poor’s, and at least one electronic source
- A news summary about your
company
- Research on legal problems
in your company or industry
- Information on your
company’s finances and a comparison of your company’s and your industry’s
ratios
- A description of the stock
market of your company over the last two years, including comments from
advisory services
- Computer Projects – As
you learn about various electronic information sources, you will be asked to
look for information on your
company that you can integrate into your final project. Write brief summaries
of what you find, as you find it.
Term
Project – 50% of Course Grade – This will be a company report which
will include the following:
1. Company information
- firm profile –
history, organization, lines of business, plants, sales, offices,
subsidiaries, etc.
- financial information
– including general financial information, company and
industry ratios, and stock market performance
- news, developments,
problems, and challenges in your company or industry
- marketing information
– lists of potential suppliers, customers, and competitors
2. Information that you would
recommend for your firm, including
- basic reference work
- periodicals, newspapers,
newsletters
- online services and sources
- loose-leaf services
- government information,
services, and agencies
- relevant professional and
trade associations
- sources consulted for this
project
Class
participation – 5% of Course Grade
Business Reference
LSC 539
PART I – GENERAL
SOURCES AND INFORMATION
Topics:
All
About Business
- The World of Business
- How the U.S. Economy Works
- Characteristics of Business
People and Their Information
- How to Find and Talk With
Experts
Business Information Services
- Business Librarianship in
Public, Academic, and Special Libraries
- Fee-Based Information
Services and Information Brokers
- Competitive Intelligence and
Knowledge Management
- Competencies of Special and
Business Librarians
Read
for September 16:
THE
WORLD OF BUSINESS
Gorman
– pp. 25-35
HOW
THE U.S. ECONOMY WORKS
“ABCs
of Today’s Economy.” U.S. News and World
Report. April 26, 1982 pp. 33-60
“The
ABC’s of How Our Economy Work” US News
and World Report. May 1, 1979
Lavin
pp. 326-335
Gorman
pp. 67-86
CHARACTERISTICS
OF BUSINESS PEOPLE AND THEIR INFORMATION
Lavin
pp. 3-7
Gorman
pp. 279-291
BUSINESS
LIBRARIANSHIP IN PUBLIC, ACADEMIC, AND SPECIAL LIBRARIES
Drucker,
Peter. “The Icon Speaks: An Interview with Peter Drucker.” Information Outlook. V. 6, no. 2 Feb. 2002 pp. 6-11
COMPETITIVE
INTELLIGENCE
Burwell
– pp. 1-13, 142-144, 431-434
Society
of Computer Intelligence Professionals (SCIP)
http://www.scip.org
– especially for FAQ page
KNOWLEDGE
MANAGEMENT
Cates,
Jo. “Got Knowledge? Get Certified.” Special Libraries Association. Business and Finance Division Bulletin. No.
116 Winter, 2001 pp. 15-18
Eknowledgecenter.com.
http://www.eknowledgecenter.com
Kent
State U. Master of Science in Information Architecture and Knowledge
Management. http://iakm.kent.edu/
Knowledge
Management Consortium International http://www.kmci.org
COMPETENCIES
OF SPECIAL AND BUSINESS LIBRARIANS
Special Libraries Association (SLA). Competencies for Special Librarians. http://www.sla.org/content/SLA/professional/meaning/comp.cfm
PROFESSIONAL
ASSOCIATIONS, PUBLICATIONS, AND SITES
American
Library Association (ALA). Reference and User Services Association (RUSA).
Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS). http://www.ala.org/Content/NavigationMenu/RUSA/Our_Association2/RUSA_Sections/BRASS/BRASS.htm
Special
Libraries Association (SLA). http://www.sla.org/
SLA.
Information Outlook. 1700 18th.
St. NW Washington, DC 20009-2514
SLA.
Business and Finance Division. http://www.slabf.org
_____.
_____. Buisness and Finance Division
Bulletin. c/o Janice Deal and Christopher Hoeppner. Loop Campus Library. DePaul
Library. 1 East Jackson Blvd. Chicago, IL 60604
September
16, 2003 – Basic Company Information
Topics:
Getting
SIC to Be NAIC: An Introduction to Company Classification Systems
Company
Characteristics
First
Steps in Finding Company Information
Annual,
10K and Other Reports: An Introduction
Important
Reference Sources to Start With
Follow-up
Exercises for September 23
1. Choose a public company and
one related industry.
2. Do the SIC exercises.
3. Start a brief profile of
your firm.
Read
For September 23:
BUSINESS
CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS
Lavin
pp. 62-64
Burwell
p. 238
Pagell
pp. 341-344, 362-363
COMPANY
CHARACTERISTICS
Lavin
pp. 114-116
Pagell
pp. 79,154-165
FIRST
STEPS IN COMPANY RESEARCH
Basch,
Reva. “Strictly Business.” Researching
Online For Dummies. IDG Books,
1998
pp. 205-239.
Researching Companies
Online. http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/index.html
Library
of Congress. Science, Technology and Business Division. Business
Reference
Services. http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business
Sharp,
Richard F. A Guide to Finding Business
Information at the Library of
Congress.
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/guide1.html
_____.
Researching the Companies: A Guide to
Finding Business Information at
the
Library of Congress. http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/business/sharp2.html
COMPANY
AND INDUSTRY REPORTS: AN INTRODUCTION
Burwell – pp. 171-177, 189-228 (if time),
238-247
Samuelson, Robert J. “Close to the Lunatic Edge:
Corporate Annual Reports
Often Tell Us More Than Their Authors Knew or
Intended.” Newsweek Apr. 21,
1997 p. 53
IMPORTANT
REFERENCE SOURCES TO START WITH
Pagell
– pp. 50-102, 3-8, 12-16
Roger Williams U. Libraries. Business Research Guides. http://library.rwu.edu/subjectguides/business.html
September
23, 2003 – Electronic Business Information: An Introduction
Topics:
An Overview of Electronic Business Information
Evaluating Electronic Business Information
Starting
Points on the Internet
Follow-up
Exercises For September 30
1. Peruse the electronic
sources mentioned in your readings and bibliography.
2. If you have time, start on
the follow-up activities described below.
Read
For September 30
Burwell
– pp. 15-64, 133-141
Pagell
– pp. 8-11, 103
September
30, 2003 – Electronic Business Information: Basic Sources on the WWW
Topics:
Finding Your Company on the Internet
Other
Company and Industry Information
Electronic
Indexes and Databases
Follow-Up
Exercises For Octnber 7:
1. Find your company’s annual
and 10-K reports on the Internet.
2. Finish a brief profile of
your firm based on the information that you find in your annual report,
Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s Corporation
Records, and other sources. Use the International
Directory of Company Histories (on the business reference table) to find a
history of your company.
3. Find names of organizations
and government agencies relevant to your industry and compile a brief
directory.
4. Write a comparison of
nonfinancial information that you find about your company in the annual report,
any 10-K report that you can find, Moody’s, and at least one electronic source.
5. Look for recent news and
information on your company in the indexes, abstracts, and electronic databases
6. Look for legal problems in your
company or industry. .
Read
For October 7
Burwell
– pp. 171-177, 189-227 (if not already read), 151-169, 65-96
Pagell
– pp. 126-153
October
7, 2003 – Electronic Business Information: Dialog
Topic:
Dialog
Follow-up
Exercises:
1. Explore Dialog as much as
you can.
2. Look for recent news and
information on your company.
3. Look for legal problems.
October
14, 2003 – Electronic Business Information: Lexis-Nexis
Topic:
Lexis-Nexis
Follow-up
Exercises:
1. Explore Lexis-Nexis as much
as you can.
2. Look for recent news and
information on your company in this source.
3. Look for legal problems in
your business or industry.
4. Write a page or two on why
your company is in the news.
5. How does the information
that you found in Lexis-Nexis compare with that found elsewhere?
October
21, 2003 – Government Information
Topic:
Government Information and Services – Federal, State, International
Read
For October 28
Lavin
– pp. 273-292
Burwell
– pp. 97-132
Pagell
– pp. 313-340, 345-357
Galbraith,
James and Bryna R. Coonin. “GIS in Business: Building a Core
Collection
For Business Geographics.” Reference and
User Services Quarterly.
v.
41 no. 1 Fall, 2001 pp. 9-17.
October
28, 2003 – Statistics
Topic:
Statistics
Read
For November 4
Gorman
– pp. 309-320
Lavin
– pp. 425-439
November
4, 2003 – Legal Research in Business (A Visit to the Library)
Topics:
How US Law is Organized
Legislative Research
Research on Administrative Regulations
Case Law Research
Follow-up
Exercise:
Find
legislation, regulations, and law cases related to legal problems in your
company
or industry for November 15.
Read
For November 12:
Lavin
– pp. 465-472
Pagell
– 19-49, 357-361
Gorman
– 149-161
Topic:
Accounting Basics
Follow-up
Exercise: Finish law project.
Read
for November 18
Lavin
– pp. 158-161, 164-165, 168-187197-198
Pagell
– pp. 104-125, 173-200
Gorman
– pp. 107-148
November
18, 2003 – Financial Information on Companies
Topic:
Financial Information on Companies
Follow-up
Exercises For December 2
1. Compare financial
information on your company found in the annual report, the 10-K report,
Moody’s and at least one electronic source.
2. Write a brief report about
financial information in your company.
- Describe general financial
records
- Compare your company’s
ratios and your industry’s
Read
For November 25:
Lavin – pp. 200-212, 227-248 (general
background, only) 249-271 (general background, only)
Gorman
– pp. 163-176
Nasdaq http://www.nasdaq.com/
November
25, 2003 – The Stock Market
Topic:
Stocks
Follow-up
Exercises:
1. Describe the stock market performance
of your company over the last two
Years. Also describe what investment advisory
services say about your company’s stocks.
2. Pull together all
information about your company.
3. Compile a list of best
sources for an information center in your company.
December
2, 2003 – Other Investments
Read
For General Knowledge
Lavin
– pp. 375-424 (general information, only)
Pagell
– pp. 203-312
Gorman
– pp. 189-262
McGuigan,
Glenn S. “When in Rome: A Rationale and Selection of Resources in
International
Business Etiquette and Intercultural Communication.” Reference
And
User Services Quarterly. V. 41 no. 3 Spring, 2002 pp. 220-227.