Business Reference 101 (May 2023)

Monday, 5/22/2023 - Friday, 6/9/2023

BizRef 101 is for any librarian in-training who wants to gain confidence and knowledge around BizRef topics such as company and industry research, consumer and market research, entrepreneurship topics and more. This 3-week long, asynchronous course allows users to go at their own pace as they work their way through each section. In addition to interacting with other course participants and sharing BizRef "stumper" questions, students in this course will have access to a number of proprietary business research databases through trials set up specifically for them. 

Students will be presented with resource guides specific to company research, industry research, small business and entrepreneurship, basic investing and stock market research, consumer research, international business research, business statistics and more.

Learning Outcomes

After participating in this eCourse, you will:

  • Be familiar with basic company, industry, and other business-research related sources
  • Build upon existing reference skills in order to confidently incorporate strategies for successful business reference outcomes
  • Gain practical experience using propreitary business databases.

Who Should Attend

BizRef 101 is designed for anyone who is looking to gain knowledge and skills around company, industry, consumer, entrepreneurship and other business-related research topics. BizRef 101 can serve as a foundation or as an excellent refresher, depending on each student's experience and background. 

Library students and other novice reference staff are welcome, as is anyone hoping to gain more confidence when faced with a business reference question. 

Instructor

Celia Ross has been teaching Business Reference 101 to sold-out crowds for RUSA since 2006. She has gained business research experience in a number of settings including a venture capital firm, a global consulting firm and in public and academic libraries. She is currently a Senior Associate Librarian at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. She is a past chair of RUSA's Business Reference & Services Section (BRASS) and the recipient of the 2014 Excellence in Business Librarianship award. 

An updated version of her award-winning book, Making Sense of Business Reference, was published in September 2019 https://www.alastore.ala.org/content/making-sense-business-reference-guide-librarians-and-research-professionals-second-edition

Registration

Cost

  • $129.58 for RUSA members
  • $188.10 for ALA members
  • $209.00 for non-ALA members
  • $141.08 for student members and retired members

How to Register

  • Online 
  • By Email: download, complete and email form (PDF format) to registration@ala.org
  • By Mail: download, complete and mail form (PDF Format) to American Library Association, ATTN: MACS/Online CE Registration, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Suite 1300, Chicago, IL 60601

Tech Requirements

ALA courses are hosted on eLearning.ala.org. All content for this course will be provided by the instructor. No textbook required. If you have questions, please visit FAQs

The course site will remain open one week after the end date for students to complete any assignments and submit the course evaluation survey.

Credits

Continuing Education Credit - A certificate of completion will be sent to each participant upon successful completion of a course.

Although this course is not CEU-certified, many licensing boards will accept it for credit. Requirements vary by state and school district regarding certification and continuing education credits. The decision to grant CEU credits remains entirely up to your state or school district. If you are in need of credits, check with your state and/or school district before enrolling to determine eligibility. Some states will review your certificate of completion and course description to determine eligibility.

Contact

Questions about your registration should be directed to registration@ala.org. Technical questions about the course should be directed to Ninah Moore at nmoore@ala.org

Thank you and we look forward to your participation!