Library:

Researching Company and Industry Information

Reference Books

Reference books are found in the physical Library and in our e-book databases, netLibrary and Books 24x7. A reference book is a work, such as a dictionary or encyclopedia, containing useful facts or information. Because these books are consulted for brief information and not read all the way through, they do not leave the library. They are located in the reference section, that is, in the first couple rows of books in the Library.

R 332.67 STA Standard & Poor's Register and Industry Surveys
R 338.74 HOO Hoover's Handbooks (we also have an online subscription, see below)
netLibrary Barron's Dictionary of Business Terms
netLibrary Business Statistics of the United States
netLibrary Encyclopedia of African-American Business History
netLibrary Landmarks in Modern American Business
netLibrary Plunkett's E-Commerce and Internet Business Almanac

Often, books that you can check out are published about specific companies and/or industries. Use the Library's catalog to search for such titles.

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Databases

(I need help accessing the databases)
The Library subscribes to--that is, pays for--a number of databases that contain articles, books and other information for you to use for your company and industry research. The most useful databases for this subject are:

Academic Universe (Lexis-Nexis): The Business section provides business news, industry news, company financials, company overviews, and more.
Business Source Premier (EbscoHost): Provides articles from respected scholarly and trade business publications, as well as some SWOT analyses. Remember that you must use Boolean operators when searching any EbscoHost database. If you need a quick tutorial in Boolean click "help" in EbscoHost.
Hoover's: Provides company and industry overviews, financials, competitor lists, product lists, and more.
Philadelphia Inquirer: A great source for local business news.
S&P NetAdvantage: NetAdavtage brings together popular S&P publications, such as Stock Reports, Industry Surveys, Register, and Company Profiles.

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Web sites

(I need help choosing quality websites)
Because anyone can publish anything they want on the Web, you need to be cautious about which sites you choose to use. Here are sites we recommend for researching companies and industries:

SEC
(www.sec.gov)
The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates all publicly traded companies. As part of this, they collect and make available a great deal of information about these companies, including annual reports and other financial information.
Company web site
Locate the official web site for the company you are researching and go to the "company information" or "investor" section. Generally, you will find financial information (for public companies), press releases, and other information.

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