Get general background information

Lavin, M. R. (1992). Business information: How to find it, how to use it. (2nd. ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. (XHF 5356 .2L36 1992) READY REFERENCE

This excellent title contains explanations on using reference tools and includes sample pages.

Pagell, R. A., & Halperin, M. (1998). International business information: How to find it, how to use it. (2nd ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx. (XHF 54.5 .P33 1998) READY REFERENCE

Woy, J. (Ed). (2003). Encyclopedia of business information sources (18th ed.). Detroit: Gale Research. (XHF 5353 .E5 2003) READY REFERENCE

Often the best place to start, entries by industry or topic provide contacts or sources under headings which include directories, prices, ratios, newsletters, databases, etc.

Find statistics, trends or forecasts

(1964 to present). Annual statement studies. Philadelphia: Robert Morris Associates. (XHF 5681 .B2 R86). Langsdale has incomplete holdings 1968 to present. LATEST EDITION in READY REFERENCE.

Bentley, L. H. (1995). Investment statistics locator. (Rev. and exp. ed.). Phoenix, AZ: Oryx. (XHG 4910 .B43 1995) READY REFERENCE

A listing of sources for published statistics on various industries and individual products.

Cremeans, J. E. (Ed.). (1998). Handbook of North American industry: NAFTA and the economics of its member nations. Lanham, MD: Bernan Press. (XHF1746.H37 1998) READY REFERENCE

This source provides statistical analysis for major industry segments only. Situation in Mexico and Canada is covered along with U.S. Appendices discuss NAFTA & NAICS.

DeJong, A. L. (Ed.). (1999). U.S. market trends & forecasts. Detroit: The Gale Group. (XHF 5415.1 .U8 1999) READY REFERENCE

(1982 to present). Industry norms and key business ratios. New York: Dun & Bradstreet Credit Services. (XHE 5681 .R25 D852) LATEST EDITION in READY REFERENCE.

Compute the standard industry averages for the company of your choice, then use this source to see how your company is doing compared to the industry as a whole. (Comparable sources are Annual Statement Studies and Almanac of Business and Financial Ratios.)

Standard & Poor's. (1973 to present; quarterly). Industry surveys. (Vols. 1-3). New York: Standard & Poor's. (XHC 106.6 .S74) LATEST in READY REFERENCE.

Provides an overview of current trends in United States industries. Frequently includes market share information, company comparisons, and financial ratios. Excellent source.

Troy, L. (1971 to present). Almanac of business and financial ratios. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall. (XHF 5681 .R25 T68). Langsdale holds 1971, 1975-1982, 1984 to present. LATEST EDITION in READY REFERENCE.

(1998 to present). U.S. industry & trade outlook . New York: McGraw-Hill. (DOCS C61.48:) LATEST EDITION READY REFERENCE

Cooperative project between private publisher and the U.S. Department of Commerce continues U.S. Industrial Outlook. Single volume source similar to Industry Surveys but without mention of individual companies. Book presents global and domestic trends for each industry profiled. Many tables and charts are included.

Value Line investment survey (Weekly). New York: Value Line Publishing. (XHG 4501 .V26). Langsdale keeps latest 3 months in paper. Microfiche holdings from 1980. LATEST in READY REFERENCE.

Mostly contains one-page reports on companies, but also has reports on the major industries in the U.S., usually one to two pages in length. Each industry/company section is updated quarterly.
In addition to the above, there are many sources which give information about individual industries. Two examples follow, one statistical and one historical. See librarians about the availability of these for other industries.

Find articles

ABI Inform [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1970 - present. Indexes more than 1,300 journals on business, management, with 75% full-text.

Business Source Premier [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies– present. Business Source Premier provides full text for nearly 8,350 scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for more than 1,100 scholarly business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for more than 350 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL). Includes company profiles, many of which contain SWOT analyses.

Find books and reports

Catalog USMAI [help]
Books, journals, government documents and other materials in the University System of Maryland, including UB. You may search up to six individual locations or the entire system.

The Conference Board’s Research Collection [on-campus]
TCB research is a searchable Collection of full-text research reports on the latest issues in business management and US and global economics. Proprietary, nonbiased research includes studies of F500 companies on business trends, leadership decisions, performance excellence, corporate governance, HR, productivity, CRM and more. Full-text coverage from 1998 to date. Economics material includes topline US and global economic indicators and analysis and forecasts of regional, national, and international economic conditions.

Digital Dissertations (Dissertation Abstracts from Proquest) [on-campus]
Coverage 1861 – present. Indexes U.S., Canadian, British, and other European dissertations and theses; dissertations abstracted since 1980, theses abstracted since 1988. A 24 page preview of dissertations published since 1997 is available. The full text of dissertations may be obtained by clicking the free download button.

NetLibrary [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies. A collection of E-texts covering specifically chosen by Maryland Academic Libraries. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL).

WorldCat [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies. International database of collections (including books, journals , dissertations, documents, and other materials) held by libraries worldwide. Maryland libraries that own copies of the items display at the top of the list of libraries so you can easily determine if local libraries own the material needed. Records of any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Includes manuscripts written as early as the 12th century.

Company/Indusry Web Links

Gale's Ready Reference Shelf [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: current. Contains more than 300,000 listings from 14 Gale directories of organizations and publications, including the Encyclopedia of Associations, Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media and Directories in Print.

ReferenceUSA [on-campus]
Coverage: Current. Provides directory, sales and employee size information for more than 12 million businesses in the U.S.