Public Libraries Briefcase
No. 3, 1st Quarter 2003
A publication of the BRASS Business Reference in Public Libraries Committee
Public Libraries Briefcase is a quarterly column written by members of the BRASS Business Reference in Public Libraries Committee. Our latest column, written by Jennifer Mahnken, is a selected bibliography of industry information. We hope that this column will be of use to public librarians working with business materials.
Finding Industry Information
In public libraries, a request for industry information is common. Someone is working on a business plan or needs background information for their investment club research. Following is a list of resources as well as ideas on how to help someone looking for industry information, historical data, current trends or the outlook.
- Standard & Poor’s Industry Surveys – Covers 36 major industries. Sub-industries included within major ones. Very thorough coverage that includes top market share holders, trends, history and projections.
- Gale’s Encyclopedia of American Industry – This two-volume source covers most industries and provides a brief description as well as some history and trends.
- Gale’s Encyclopedia of Emerging Industries – As the name implies, get information about new and emerging industries.
- Dun and Bradstreet’s Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios – This source and the following two are organized by SIC code. They offer ratios and averages for a given number of companies in an industry in various areas such as inventory costs, debt, earnings, and employee costs. Get an idea about costs and expenses for any given industry.
- RMA Annual Statement Studies
- Troy’s Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios
- Standard Industrial Classification -- http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/sicser.html -- Find the SIC code associated with the appropriate industry in order to find data in other publications.
- North American Industrial Classification System -- http://www.osha.gov/oshstats/naics-manual.html -- The "new" SIC. Find the NAICS code as another means to locate data about a given industry.
- County Business Patterns -- http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html -- Government reports organized by industry code that provide statistical data.
- Current Industrial Reports -- http://www.census.gov/cir/www/ -- Government reports about specific industries and sub-industries. Provides statistics and detailed tables regarding sales and production.
- ZapData -- http://www.zapdata.com/ -- a commercial site that provides free industrial reports for a select group of industries. Free registration is required.
Associations – Don’t forget about recommending that your patron check out some of the associations affiliated with the industry! This can be a great source of information as well as a current one.
- Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations – A list of associations grouped by subject, accessed by key word.
- Small Business Source Book – Not only associations but also books and trade journals about the business or industry.
Magazines and Newspapers – This is one of the first places I send a patron for current industry trends or outlook. It is the most up-to-date information and easily accessible through several online databases or free news Web sites.
- Infotrac’s Business and Company Resource Center
- EbscoHost’s Business Source Premier
- Proquest’s ABI/Inform and ABI Inform Dateline
- Bizjournals.com – Regional business news
Written by Jennifer Mahnken, Johnson County Library, Overland Park, Kansas
Disclaimer: This publication has been placed on the web for the convenience of BRASS members. Information and links will not be updated. Posted 14 January 2003.Presentations and Handouts
Public Libraries Briefcase
Best of the Best Business Web Sites
Academic BRASS
Core Competencies for Business Reference
