ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries April 1 9 9 4 /1 9 1 Internet resources for business By Leslie M. Haas Sample the many facets o f business information on the Net N ew so u rce s are b ein g added to the Internet daily, and many of us have a difficult time keeping track o f what is out there in our subject area. One solution to this prob­ lem has been to create subject bibliographies o f what is available and make them accessible via anonymous ftp and gophers to those who are interested. Approximately a year ago, a question was posted on BUSLIB-L asking for help finding such a guide for business. On discovering that there wasn’t one available, several librar­ ians decided to create one. The result was B usiness Sources o n th e Net ( BSN). Currently, BSN is divided into nine different files, each on a different business subject. There are plans to add new subjects as more sources becom e available on the Net and to update the exist­ ing files. The files are available via anonymous ftp to ksuvxa.kent.edu in the Library D irectory and also through the gopher at refmac.kent.edu 70 under the name B usin ess Sou rces on th e Net. The resources available to business research­ ers are varied. The following are highlights from each o f the files in the directory. Listed at the end o f each section are the names o f those persons responsible for putting that section together. The connection information includes the protocol to be used (e.g., telnet, ftp) followed by the ad dress o f the host site and any subdirectories o f login information. Example: Protocol//address/subdirectory/subdirectory. General business sources The following resources are general business sources that will be useful to people in differ­ ent areas o f business. Sources in this section include: telephone books, current events, and government information. • Small Business B ib liograph y. Gopher: //gopher.fsu.edu/libraries/Strozier Library Re­ search Guides/Topic or Alph List/Small Busi­ ness Bibliography. A brief bibliography and “how to find” guide for small business clientele. • G ross State P ro d u ct Tables. Gopher: //lib.umich.edu/Social Sciences Research/Eco­ nomics. This database contains econom ic in­ formation on the state level. • W a s h la w . T e ln e t:/ / a c c .w u a c c .e d u . Login: washlaw. Information on this system in­ cludes: The 1993-94 U.S Budget, 1990 Census data, and Congressional bills. Users can search the system by types of law (commercial, intel­ lectual property, disability, etc.) Washlaw also allows users to connect to other Internet tools. • F e d w o rld E l e c t r o n i c M a rk e tp la c e . Telnet://fedworld.gov/name/user-id. This re­ source is a gateway to many government bul­ letin boards which may include data sets. Two boards that may be o f interest to business per­ sons are: The Census Board and the GPO Bul­ letin Board. C u rren t In d u s tr ia l R eports and C ensu s B o a r d News R eleases are just two o f the sources that are accessible using these bulletin boards.— E lizab eth B. R ich m on d , University o f W isconsin-E au C laire; L elah Lugo, University o f W isconsin-Stout; M ichele McKnelly, University o f W isconsin-R iver Falls Economics The following resources cover the area o f eco­ nomics. Leslie M. Haas is the business reference librarian a t the Kent State University Libraries, Ohio; e-mail: lhaas@ kentvm.kent.edu mailto:lhaas@kentvm.kent.edu 1 9 2 /C&RL News • E co n o m ic Bulletin B o ard at th e U ni­ v e rs ity o f M ich igan : UNA.HH.LIB.UMICH. EDU. This is by far one of the most important sources of econom ic data on the Internet. This site downloads approximately one third o f all the files available on the Economic Bulletin Board. The information contained on this bul­ letin board is usually current textual informa­ tion. It is available for both ftp and gopher file transfers. • Sam H o u sto n S tate U n iv e rsity . Go- pher://niord.shsu.edu/. Documents included at this gopher site include selected econom ic bib­ liographies and the text of the NAFTA docu­ ments. • Fed eral R eserve B ank o f B osto n . Go- pher://NEEEDC.UMESBS.MAINE.EDU/FRBB/. This bulletin board contains regional economic data from the Federal Reserve Bank o f Boston. Both text and compressed files are available by ftp. • c s e m i i s t @h a s a r a 11.b ITn e t . t o sui­ scribe send a message to saraserv@hasara11. bitnet with the line: “Subscribe CSEMLIST Your Name”. This list serves as an information distri­ bution system for researchers in the field of computational economics.— C arl B rau n , Syra­ cu se University Foreign statistics, economic trends, and international management Foreign and international items in this section are defined from the U.S.’s perspective. • 10 a.m. EST Foreign Exchange Rates. Go- pher://una.hh.lib.umich.edu/ebb/monetary/ tenfx.frb. • H is to r ic P r ic e D ata f o r U .K ., U .S., C anad a, N orw ay, an d Sw eden. Gopher:// niord.shsu.edugopher_root:[_Data.Economics. Price]. Correction One of the footnotes in the article “Se­ lecting a preservation photocopy machine” by Dorothy W. Wright (January 1994) gave the wrong date. The second note referenc­ ing the permanent paper standard gave the date as 1984. The standard was revised in 1992 and should have been referenced as: ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992, P e r m a n e n c e o f P a p e r f o r L ibrary P rin ted M aterials. The edi­ tors regret the error. • I n t e r n a t i o n a l M a rk e tin g In s ig h ts , C&E E u rop e. Gopher://nestroy.we-wein.ac.at/ 1/pub/cerro/profiles. Reports by the U.S. em­ bassies and consulates on important develop­ ments with trade and investment implications. • J o u r n a l o f th e In tern a tio n a l A ca d em y o f H ospita lity R e s e a r c h . To subscribe con­ tact the editor/publisher at JIAHRED@VTMl.CC. VT.EDU. This journal publishes refereed articles on basic and applied research on aspects of hospitality and tourism. It is published by the Scholarly Communications Project of Virginia Polytech nic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.— Mel W esterm an a n d G ary White, P en n sy lv an ia State University Finance and banking Sources of information in the three areas of corporate finance are presented in this section: money, banking, and credit. • N a tio n a l B u r e a u o f E c o n o m ic R e­ s e a rch . FTP:/nber/harvard/edu//. These three files contain the Survey o f C on su m er F in an ce. • New E n g la n d B an k in g D ata. FTP:// neeedc.umesbs.maine.edu/edu/frbb/banking. These files contain information on the New England economy. Performance measures for banks in the New England area and financial statements are two o f the files available from this site. • E -Fin an ce. To subscribe send a message to listserv@templevm with the line “Subscribe E-Finance Your first name Your last name”. The E lectron ic J o u r n a l o f F in a n c in g disseminates information o f interest to academic researchers in finance.—J a n Tudor, W illam ette University; T h e o d o r a H ayn es, R utgers University; S h a ri B u x b au m , M ichigan State University Human resources Information on human resources/personnel management is available in this section. (Note: No benchmarking information or local human resources operations have been included in this file.) • H um an R esou rces an d In d ustrial P sy­ c h o lo g y Section o f th e D irecto ry o f S ch ol­ a r l y E l e c t r o n i c C o n f e r e n c e s . Gopher:// gopher.uask.ca./Computing/Internet Informa­ tion/Directory o f Scholarly Electronic Confer­ ences/Business, Miscellaneous Academic and News/Human Resources and Industrial Psychol­ ogy. Major discussion lists in the area o f hu­ man resources and industrial psychology are listed in this section of the directory. Gopher://nestroy.we-wein.ac.at/ mailto:atJIAHRED@VTMl.CC April 1 9 9 4 /1 9 3 • E m p loym en t Statistics, U.S. E co n o m ic Bulletin B o ard . Gopher://una.hh.lib.umich. edu/ebb/employment/*.*; ftp:/una.hh.lib.umich. edu/ebb/employm ent/*.*; ftp://una.hh.iib. umich.edu/ebb/bin [binary transfer for larger files]. These files contain a variety o f statistical and textual information on employment and labor. Some of the files available in the em­ ployment directory include: BLS Employment Cost Index, Employment Situation, civilian la­ bor force and unemployment by state, house­ hold employment statistics, major collective bargaining settlement, average wage and com­ pensation tables, and unemployment rates by state and selected industry divisions. • HRIS-L@UALTVM.BITNET. To subscribe send a message to listserv@ualtvm with the line “Subscribe HRIS-L Your first name Your last name”. Human Resources Information (Canada) E-Conference is for payroll, personnel, and administration employees. This list is moder­ ated.— H ope N. Tillman, B a b so n College; G ary White, P e n n s y lv a n ia S tate University; T heo H aynes, Rutgers University Management science, statistical methods, and operations Coverage o f these topics has been combined because o f the overlap in the resources avail­ able. (Note: Course descriptions are excluded from this listing.) • L a b o r a t o r y o f M a n u f a c tu r in g R e­ s e a rch , W ork in g P ap er, Faculty o f Manage­ m e n t , U n i v e r s i t y o f T o r o n t o . Ftp:// fmgmt.mgmt.utoronto.ca/*. The working papers are either forthcoming in specified journals or submitted for publication. • CHANCE. Gopher://cameron.geom.umn. edu/CHANCE/*.*. This database contains ma­ terial designed to be helpful in teaching a CHANCE course. CHANCE is a case study course based on current chance events as re­ ported in the daily newspapers. • MNF-STRATEGY@MAILBASE.AC.UK. To subscribe send a message to mailbase@ mailbase.ac.uk with the line “join MNF-STRAT- EGY Your first name Your last name”. The Manufacturing Strategy is a forum for research­ ers and practitioners in the fields o f manufac­ turing strategy formulation and performance measurement system design. • SCI.OP-RESEARCH. This Usenet News­ group is the umbrella group for the operations research/management community. Focus is on research, application, and teaching.— H ope N. T illm an, B a b s o n C ollege; P erry H o r n e r a n d Terry M eyer, A r iz o n a S tate University; A n n Scholz, University o f W isconsin -P arkside Accounting and taxation The main sources o f information available in the area of accounting and taxation come from Gopher://una.hh.lib.umich ftp://una.hh.iib Gopher://cameron.geom.umn mailto:MNF-STRATEGY@MAILBASE.AC.UK 1 9 4 /C&RL News the General Accounting O ffice (GAO). The GAO is an investigative arm o f Congress that examines issues concerning the receipt and dis­ bursement of public funds. • W iretap In te r n e t. G o p her://wiretap . spies.com/gov. This site contains GAO publi­ cations including GAO High Risk Reports, GAO T ech n ica l Reports, and GAO M iscellan eou s Re­ ports. • V illanova T ax Law C om pendium . Go- pher://ming.law.vill.edu/.taxlaw./. This is a col­ lection o f student tax papers available to stu­ dents and practitioners through the Villanova gopher. • C a p A cce ss. Telnet://cap .gwu.edu/go federal/Legislative Branch Menu. Logon: Guest. Password: Visitor. The National Capital Area Public Access Network in cooperation with GAO is providing access to the GAO D aybook. The D a y b o o k lists the current daily reports and testimony by the GAO. • FEDTAX-L@SHSU. To subscribe send a message to listserv@shsu with the line “sub­ scribe FEDTAX-L Your first name Your last name”. This unmoderated discussion list focuses on both the practical and academic viewpoints o f various federal taxation issues.— B a r b a r a M en to, B o s to n C o lle g e ; S h a r m o n K en y o n , H u m bold t State University; W endy D iam on d, University o f C aliforn ia, B erkeley; B a r b a r a B ut­ ler, University o f N evada, R en o Management including public and nonprofit organizations Concentration in this section is on sources of management information in organizational be­ havior, organization theory, management of new and small business, corporate and strate­ gic planning, and the management o f public and nonprofit organizations. • The M anagem ent A rch iv e (U niversity o f M in n eso ta). Gopher://chimera.sph.umn. edu. The Archives provide access to contrib­ uted papers and preprints in the management and organizational sciences, recent paper calls, course syllabi, teaching materials, etc. • CNI-MANAGEMENT@CNI.ORG. To sub­ scribe send a message to listserv@cni.org with the line “subscribe CNI-MANAGEMENT Your first name Your last name”. This forum is for those interested in issues about the training and education o f management professionals. • ESBDC-L@FERRIS. To subscribe send a message to listserv@ferris with the line “sub­ scribe ESBDC-L Your first name Y ou r last name”. This unmoderated discussion group is aimed at facilitating discussion among small business development centers.—J a n T udor a n d S r i d h a r K r is h a n , W il la m e t t e U n iv ers ity ; T h eod ora Haynes, Rutgers University Computers This section focuses on computers as they re­ late to the general area of business. ( Note; Ex­ cluded in this section are course descriptions, local operations, and files that are specific to a brand o f hardware or software.) • C om p uter S cience an d Related Areas sectio n o f th e D irecto ry o f S ch o la rly E le c ­ tro n ic C o n feren ces. Gopher://gopher.usask. ca/Computing/Intemet Information/Directory of Scholarly Electronic Conferences/Computer Sci­ ence and Related Areas. Computer conferences o f the well-networked computer scientist com­ munity. • A rt o f T e c h n o lo g y D igest. Ftp://ftp. wuarchive.wustl.edu/doc/misc/aot/*. This jour­ nal is devoted to sharing information among computerists and to the presentation and de­ bate o f diverse views. • C o m p u tin g E le c tr o n i c S e ria ls. Go- pher://gopher.cic.net/e-serials/general/comput- ing. A variety of titles are represented includ­ ing: A pple, I n t e r p e r s o n a l C o m p u tin g a n d Technology, and C om pu ter N etw orking J o u r ­ nals.— H ope Tillman, B a b s o n College Investment information There has always been keen interest in invest­ ment data via the Internet. The follow ing sources focus on those sources that are o f in­ terest to the individual investor. (Note: As with paper sources, interest may wane and the source could disappear.) • E Mail Quoter. Ftp://ftp.dg-rtp.dg.com/ pub/misc.invest/quote dump. Contains selected daily prices and market oscillator readings. Data is also ranked by advances, declines, percent change and a variety of other measures. (Note: Information is deemed reliable, but never guar­ anteed.) • F i n a n c i a l E c o n o m i c s N e tw o rk (AFA_FIN ). Send a m essage to MARRM@ CLEMSON.EDU (Wayne Marr) or TRIMBLE@ VANCOUVER.WSU.EDU (Joh n Trim ble) to subscribe to this service. AFA_FIN contains eleven moderated lists on a variety o f topics including real estate, banking, international fi­ nance, and investments.— P e a r l Alberts, O ’Neill L ibrary ■ Gopher://chimera.sph.umn mailto:CNI-MANAGEMENT@CNI.ORG mailto:listserv@cni.org Gopher://gopher.usask Ftp://ftp Ftp://ftp.dg-rtp.dg.com/ April 1 9 9 4 / 1 9 5 A B e t t e r W a y T o Se a r c h Da ta ba ses We started in 1 9 8 5 , database searchers com m itted to better search software design. W e becam e the prem ier vendor o f M e d lin e , th e n e x p a n d e d o u r c a ta lo g to o t h e r d a ta b a s e s . L a s t y e a r w e w on In fo rm a tio n W orld R ev iew ’s P R O D U C T O F T H E Y E A R fo r faster, ea sie r search software. B ut a b etter way means m eeting the evolving needs - individual and campus wide - o f today’s library users. Announcing O V ID : a database interface so flexible it molds itself to your search environment. W ith OVID y o u ’re free to move from one operating system to another without retraining. O V ID ’s Common User Interface assures identical functionality in DOS, Windows and UNIX. A haven fo r beginners, OVID's Easy Mode has on screen prompts. The more experienced can pull-down menus showing an array o f search options. Experts w ill fe e l at home using online syntax. Search with natural language i f you like. OVID mapping cuts through the mystery o f controlled vocabularies, homing in on precisely matching subject headings. There’s an unprecedented array o f search tools - indexes, thesauri, limits and fields - many never before available in an interface. They’re all standard OVID features. HELP fo r every search function is context-sensitive and on screen, never more than a key­ stroke or mouse click away. OVID. A better way to search ERIC, Current Contents®, PsycINFO®, Medline, Readers’ Guide Abstracts, EM BASE and more. CD PLUS Technologies N ew Y o r k 8 0 0 - 9 5 0 - 2 0 3 5 / 2 1 2 - 5 6 3 - 3 0 0 6 L o n d o n 4 4 ( 0 ) 8 1 - 7 4 8 - 3 7 7 7 A m s te rd a m 2 0 - 6 7 2 - 0 2 4 2