More on Old SEC filings

I was helping one of Prof. Cherney's students this morning look for financial statements from the 1980's for Amre Inc. We were able to find balance sheet/income statement numbers in the Moody's Industrial Manuals.

Another source for old statements is the NAARS collection in LexisNexis. Choose "Business - Company Financial." Type in the company name and from the source box choose either NAARS Annual Reports 1972-1984 or 1984-1995. In some cases you will find only the consolidated financial statement, in others, the financial statement with footnotes and auditor's comments.

Prof. Cherny's Principles of Auditing Assignment and filings re: Star Technologies

As previously mentioned in a several posts last month, some auditing students of Prof. Cherny are trying to get financial and other information about some companies that were involved in audit failures. One is Star Technologies. Many of these companies are no longer publicly traded so their filings are not available on Hoovers or Thomson. I found Star's filings on the SEC website in their older Edgar filings. Excerpts from the filings may also be located on Compustat. If the ticker is needed, the lookup on Compustat might work. Otherwise, I went to Factive, searched for news articles on the company, and located the ticker symbol, and then searched on Compustat.

The professor does not expect the students to purchase filings. He explained to me that the students should explain what information they were able to find and how they made use of it. He said in real life you frequently don't have complete information on which to make decisions. (The summaries of the audit failures give some details about the work conditions that the auditors face. Sometimes the companies/officials weren't very open about their information.)

Tip sheet for proximity search operators

I've started a page in the Reference Handbook on "Proximity Searching" that offers the operators for "any word order" searches and "restricted word order" searches in the following:

• CSA (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts)
• CUNY+
• EBSCOhost
• Factiva
• LexisNexis Academic Universe
• ProQuest
• WilsonWeb

The page has a hyperlinked table of contents at the top so you don't have to scroll down the page to get to a particular section. Before I go adding more databases, please leave a comment posted here on this blog to let me know your thoughts about this.

SDC Platinum updates

I've substantially revised the entry in our Reference Handbook wiki on SDC Platinum, but it could use some more work. Anyone who wants to add more details to the entry so that it can be demystified for all of us is encouraged to edit the entry.

New search interface for Business Source Premier

We've now switched over to the new search interface for Business Source Premier. Give a try if you haven't already.

Business Source Premier

BSP is back to normal.

Radio Advertising Bureau

The marketing reports from the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) database are a great free resource. Here is a description of it from our "Industry Information" subject guide:

Over 160 product and service sectors are covered in the “Instant Background” reports from RAB, the Radio Advertising Bureau. Service industries like dating services, museums, and overnight couriers, and small business sectors like chiropractors and drycleaners are featured in RAB. The reports present data on who buys, where they buy (company rankings), and their buying habits. It concludes with a forecast of business trends.

A link to the database and instructions for logging in can be found on the reference passwords page. There is no link to the RAB database from the library web site.

Thanks go out to Peggy Teich for letting the rest of us know about this valuable web site.

World Bank's Privitization Database

The description for this free World Bank resource, the Privatization Database, indicates that it:

provides information on more than 9,000 privatization transactions in developing countries from 1988 to 2003. Search transactions by country, region or sector for a particular time period or for the entire period covered in the database.

Thomas Web Site Redesigned

As noted on a post on ResourceShelf, the Thomas site on the Library of Congress site has been redesigned.

Update on the FARS assignment

I have placed 20 more copies of the handout explaining the sources available for the Financial Accounting Standards Board information which is needed for the FARS assignment in the reference desk file drawer with the other FARS information. I will be gone next week.

(Just as a refresher, FARS(Financial Accounting Research System) is the word that Wiley uses to package their student access to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's information. This same information is available in RIA Checkpoint and CCH. The free FASB website, www.fasb.org lacks the current text of the FASB information. The current text is important for the students to access. Access to FARS Online is available through the most recent edition of Kieso's Intermediate Accounting. Not all students have this edition. Last year, the FARS CD was the method Wiley-FASB made available to students.)

I would suggest encouraging students to search the information using the databases RIA Checkpoint or CCH Business & Finance as these are online and may be used off campus. The FARS disks in the drawer are current as of June 2004 as the June 2005 disks are still back-ordered. The students may use these disks but then they also need to check to see if the information is still current and this can be done on RIA or CCH.

Most of the students have completed the assignment but apparently some classes received it later than others. The graduate students of Prof. Nurnberng need to consult the SEC's regulations and how to do this is provided in my handout.

Business Source Premier

For some reason, logging into BSP from the homepage is not working -- you get a screen that says your session has expired. I have contacted EBSCO about this, but as a way around this for now, if you start a new session (the link appears next to session has expired), and follow on, you get to choose BSP and can get connected from that screen.

Handy LCSH Subdivisions

This recent Library Journal article, "Amazing, Magic Searches!" has a nice list of 25 valuable LCSH subdivisions that will spice up your keyword searches in an OPAC.

For a more comprehensive list, see this list of "Free Floating Subject Subdivisions" from the librarians at Princeton University (oddly, the page is on the Columbia University Libraries web site).

via lbr

Question about "Baruch College for Dummies"

A student asked me if we had the book "Baruch College for Dummies." She told me it was on Baruchvoiceout, which I was unfamiliar with, so she showed me. The actual series of Dummies.com books are now part of Wiley, which I doubt knows of this localized version.

Statistical Reference source - NationMaster & NetMedia

I just learned of this statistical website from Buslib-l. It claims to pull together statistics from a variety of sources including UN, WHO, World Bank, etc. generates charts, and has global coverage and looks pretty impressive!
It is at http://www.nationmaster.com/

Since I hadn't known of it, I looked at the reviews it hosted and found a Nielsen/netRatings 10.13.05 report on educational reference web sites (Wikipedia, etc.) which
reported that "educational reference Web sites attracted nearly 46.4 million Web users to reach 31 percent of the active Internet universe in September 2005." It's an interesting read!

http://www.nielsen-netratings.com/pr/pr_051013.pdf

Color printers

Baruch students in need of a color printer will find one in the main computer lab on the 6th floor.

Relevant Reference Handbook entries:

• Color Printer
• Main Computer Lab
  

Factiva

Has been experiencing problems on their end, which they say, should end shortly. I was just able to get in. Please let me know if you continue to experience problems.

Patron use of reference desk computers

As agreed upon at today's IS Division meeting, we will have a new policy regarding the way that we set up patrons on the two rear PCs in the reference desk. I've updated the Reference Handbook page on "Reference Desk Computers" to reflect this new policy:

There are a handful of CD-ROM databases that can only be accessed on the two rear reference desk computers (e.g., SDC Platinum). If patrons need to use one of these databases, please follow these steps in setting the patron up:

1. Take the patron's ID card and place it in the reference desk drawer (just as we do for ready reference items that get borrowed).
2. Set the patron up in a chair on the outside of the reference desk, not the inside.
3. Remind the patron that the PC is to be used only for the specific requested database. Patrons should not use these terminals to search other databases (or do word processing, e-mail, etc.) It is of course OK for the patron to use Word or Excel on these machines as he/she is working in the requested database, as many patrons will need to download and save data into Word documents or Excel spreadsheets.
4. When patron returns to the desk to pick up his/her ID card, return the card and immediately go over to the PC and swing the monitor back around so it is facing inward and place the keyboard and mouse back inside the reference desk.

GaleNet should be ok now

According to report from Thomson Gale.

GaleNet may experience some problems

Received from Gale:

Gale is again experiencing technical difficulties which will effect
applications running on the GaleNet platform. Our engineers are actively
working to get the problem resolved. I will send out additional updates as
more information is available. Please accept our apologies for any
inconvenience this may cause.
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Technical Support
department at 800-877-4253 (Option 4).

Evaluating a Firm's Jobs and Pay-report from BLS, National Compensation Survey

http://stats.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbr0004.pdf

I came across a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics's National Compensation Survey which our students may find interesting as they examine career opportunities. Entitled "A Guide to Evaluting Your Firms Jobs and Pay," and using the SOC (Standard Occupational Classification), it looks at a number of different professional jobs and ranks them according to work levels, responsibilities, knowledge, etc.

There are specific guides for Business Administration, one for Professional Accounting and Auditing, one for Info Tech, another for Soc, Psych, etc.; legal and social welfare and health administration.

Diane

Sense-Making the Information Confluence

Brenda Dervin, who has written a lot on sense-making as a model for how people search for information, is part of a team that will be researching how college students find and use electronic information. The researchers have received a major grant from IMLS to study this topic for the next two years. You can read the project proposal as well as papers and presentations related to the project at the project web site: Sense-Making the Information Confluence. For starters, you may want to check out the following:

• a presentation about the project (PowerPoint)
  
• the grant proposal abstract (PDF)
• the grant proposal narrative (PDF)

Periodicals at Queens College

If you didn't see this post on CULIBS-

The Queens College Benjamin Rosenthal Library is undergoing post-flood renovation.
Periodicals stack ranges from call number QD through Z 675P are not accessible from now through mid-January 2006. Please do not send your patrons to Queens expecting to use these journals.

Beginning Dec. 7th - microforms and CD-ROMs will be paged. Items will be paged at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 6 p.m.Mondays thru Thursdays and at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

Consult the "Renovation Updates" blimp on our library homepage for current renovation information

Open access for College and Research Libraries

ACRL just announced that they will be providing open access to back issues of College and Research Libraries. There will be a six month embargo before issues are made available online. More details on the ACRL web site.

ACS adds functionality

American Chemical Society has added the ability to download a citation to citation manager and an RSS feeds to some of their publications.

More information at: http://pubs.acs.org/4librarians/livewire/2005/6.11/

New research re New York City

“The Evolution of Commuting Patterns in the New York City Metro Area,” by Jason Bram and Alisdair McKay (Current Issues in Economics and Finance, October 2005) is among the new research available from the Federal Bank of New York.

“The Evolution of Commuting Patterns in the New York City Metro Area,” by Jason Bram and Alisdair McKay Has the migration of jobs to the suburbs changed the commuting patterns in the New York City metro area? An analysis of current commuting trends suggests that Manhattan remains the region’s undisputed employment center and that workers are actually traveling farther to their jobs. Two factors appear to account for the longer commutes: the dispersion of people and jobs and a greater tolerance for long-distance travel among employers and employees.

Learning Express Database has GMAT, GRE, ESL, MATH etc.

Students in Prof. DeLuca's Management Development and Training classes have been exploring our databases and developing their own trading modules based on them. Today, one student presented a training piece on the Learning Express Database. I was surprised to find that the test collection is more extensive that I had realized.

It includes (free, as the student noted,--not Barrons or Kaplan!) practice tests for various tests we're often asked for including GMAT, GRE, ESL, math, etc. Needless to say, students at the presentation were very interested!

Diane

Circulation Policies at CUNY Libraries

The website of the CUNY Office of Library Services has added a page with the circulation policies of all the CUNY Libraries. It lists who may borrow, the loan period, and the number of renewals allowed.

You might also want to check out the page on "E-Journals & Reference Databases." It now lists resources in broad subject areas: General/Reference, Business & Social Sciences, Education/Library Science, Humanities, Science & Health, E-Books, and others.

Datamonitor Company Reports (including SWOTs) in Investext

I just "discovered" that Investext Plus has a number of Datamonitor company reports. A brief and unscientific comparison with the Datamonitor reports in Business Source Premier turned up
newer reports for the same company as well as some additional companies and SWOTS <> in BSP Datamonitor reports. The SWOTs I found seemed to be lengthier than those in BSP. Curiously, some of the Investext Plus reports were for private companies such as Ace Hardware.
(Louise and I discussed this and concluded that Investext may be adding additional non-analyst types of reports as a result of recent requirements attempting to put up barriers separating analysts from brokers. If anyone has other explanations please let us know!~).
Diane

Air Baruch in the Chronicle of Higher Ed.

And more about colleges and cellphone services, at:

http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i12/12a03201.htm

LACUNY Directory 2005-2006

The latest print edition of the LACUNY Directory, the 38th edition for 2005-2006, is now at the reference desk. Additions and changes will be added monthly to the Members page at the LACUNY Website.

Library Instruction Wiki

Librarians in Oregon have launched a Library Instruction Wiki that includes handouts, presentations, outlines, and much more.

Methodology Limiters in PsychINFO

I just want to post to the blog a question and answer about PsychINFO that was on CULIBS-L this morning.

A psychology faculty member has pointed out that the ability to limit a
search with the "Content/Form" option has disappeared. For example, one
could do a search for a topic and limit it to a literature review by adding
CT 1300 to the search.

It looks like EBSCO has just broken them out into a new bundle of limiters. The to limit to "Literature Review" field is now in a set of limiters called "Methodology." The full list of limiters in this "Methodology" drop down is as follows:

- Clinical Case Study
- Empirical Case Study
- Experimental Replication
- Followup Study
- Longitudinal Study
- Prospective Study
- Retrospective Study
- Field Study
- Literature Review
- Mathematical Modeling
- Meta Analysis
- Nonclinical Case Study
- Qualitative Study
- Quantitative Study
- Treatment Outcome/Clinical Trial

inquisitor ~ instant search

There's an interesting new search engine that is in beta right now. inquisitor ~ instant search offers you search results as you type.

New York Stock Exchange glossary of investment terms

As I mentioned at the IS division meeting on Monday, the New York Stock Exchange web site has a glossary of investment terms. (Click on Glossary and you then navigate it. I like it but there are many others available on the Internet, such as TIAA-CREF. Some of the sites have a great deal of advertising.

The European Library

I was recently reminded of this project ...
"The European Library webservice is a portal which offers access to the combined resources (books, magazines, journals.... - both digital and non-digital) of the 43 national libraries of Europe. It offers free searching and delivers digital objects - some free, some priced."
Please note that it is a beta/pilot version.

http://www.theeuropeanlibrary.org

The Gabriel (GAteway and BRIdge to Europe's National Libraries) site used to provide access to these libraries. It has been integrated into the European Library site. The Gabriel site is no longer online.

"Advanced Search allows you to modify which collections to search, if you desire. The "Online books, images, maps, etc..." has amazing materials, but only from four libraries -- for now. (I retrieved images of WWI US posters, full-text scientific materials, and more. I found full-text from the 1600s to current materials.) There is also a section called "Treasures", which has scanned images of special collections from many national libraries.

Strategic Plan Committee Reports

The Committee Reports have been placed in a binder at the Reference Desk, and can be searched in CUNY+ under Baruch College strategic plan, 2006-2011 : committee reports.
Call Number: LD 5171 .N49 B34 2005.

Evening Support from BCTC

In case you have not heard already, this semester the BCTC help desk extended its regular hours to 9:00 p.m. (Mon-Thurs.), 7:00 (Friday) and 6:00 (Sunday). In addition, the lab has added a full-time evening supervisor, Edwin Melendez. If you have a problem that cannot wait until the morning, such as a printing failure, Edwin may be able to help.

The DaVinci Institute - The Future of Libraries

This is a paper that the biblioblogosphere (the world of blogs by librarians) has been talking about lately: The DaVinci Institute - The Future of Libraries.