Library:

Researching Topics In African-American Studies

Reference Books
Databases
Web sites
Professional Organizations


Reference Books

Reference books are found both 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 658.4012 BUS Business Plans Handbook
  • R 658.022 HIL Encyclopedia of Small Business
  • R 658.022 SMA Small Business Sourcebook
  • netLibrary Business Plans to Game Plans: A practical system for turning strategies into action
  • netLibrary Managing Information Technology in Small Business : Challenges and Solutions

You can search the e-book databases directly via the "databases" page to find more virtual titles, or use the Library's catalog to find phsyical books in our Library.


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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 research.

  • 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.
  • Philadelphia Inquirer: A great source for local business news.

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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 this topic:

  • Small Business Administration (SBA)
     (http://www.sba.gov)
    Sponsored by the government agency responsible for encouraging the development and growth of small businesses in America. Here you will find information on starting, financing, and managing you business, as well as sample business plans and budgets, discussions about contracting with the government, and more.
  • SCORE
    (http://www.score.org)
    Offers a "template gallery" for business plans and financial planning, online workshops, and a free advice service.
  • Small Business Development Center: National Information Clearinghouse (SBDC)
    (http://sbdcnet.org/)
    Providing relevant research, web information, and counseling on all aspects of small business start up, management, and finance. This site is sponsored by the University of Texas at San Antonio and funded by the SBA.
  • Small Business Advancement National Center
    (http://www.sbaer.uca.edu)
    This has a fair amount of cross-over with the other sites recommended here, but may be useful in more quickly accessing some of the information buried on, for instance, the SBA site. The SBANC is funded by the SBA, the SBDC, and the University of Arkansas.

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Professional Organizations

Professional and trade associations are rich resources, often providing news about relevant issues and legislation, data, trends, and more.


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