Zotero (in beta) is a free resource for managing your research resources, much like EndNote... for those of you familiar with that tool. Zotero allows you to "collect, manage, and cite" found resources such as web pages, journal articles, or other resources with links to find the items later. Zotero's format is much like itunes, so it's easy to use and organize records and files. You can also create bibliographies in APA, Chicago, and MLA formats. And while it's still in beta, it is free and a good alternative to EndNote. You must have Firefox 2.0 in order to download Zotero (it's fairly easy to download Firefox 2.0). More information is available at the Zotero site... along with a most excellent short demo.

Zotero http://www.zotero.org/

Tip: Creating a bibliography in APA, Chicago, or MLA is fairly easy, but the info on how to do so is a bit buried. By right clicking on a folder, an option to create a bibliography appears.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CSU Libraries Subject Guides are a good starting point for your research. These cover a range of subjects and are created and compiled by the subject librarians at the library. For business and economics students and researchers, there are research guides that cover the topics of finding company information, industry information, international business, economics, and statistics to name a few. These can be located from the library's homepage... you'll see the link to "Subject Guides" under the "Find" column. The subject guides are arranged alphabetically. Here's the link to the business, economics, and statistics guides:

• Business Resource and Course Guidesl


• Economics Subject Guide


• Statistics Subject Guide

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The February issue of The Competitive Edge, CSU's e-business newletter, is now available. Begun in early 2006, the bi-monthly newsletter created by the office of CSU System Chancellor Larry Penley, covers business and economic development issues as well as Colorado industry information. From the premier issue: "Our goal is to offer solid information and insights related to key industries, research collaborations and resources that support Colorado economic development and business excellence." To give you an idea of the coverage, this month's issue has articles that include information about CSU's new MicroRx "Supercluster," soil science applications and their economic implications around the world, an update on India's economy, and a report on job growth in Northern Colorado. You can subscribe to the newletter and receive it directly to your email.

For more information:
http://edge.colostate.edu/

February's issue:
http://edge.colostate.edu/email-feb2007.html

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The wine industry in Colorado is thriving according to some. Just last week, the Fort Collins Weekly did a brief article about Colorado wines. Here are some resources for research on the Colorado wine industry and the wine industry in general.

• Colorado Wine Industry Development Board History, maps, tours, events, and resources. Resources include industry news articles and releases, Colorado wine industry info including stats and economic impact studies, general wine industry info, government links, CO wine board files, etc.
• Guide to Colorado Wineries and Vineyards
  Listing of wineries, locations, and tasting hours.
• Wine business industry links
  Industry stats, online resources, sales and consumption, research.
• The National Association of American Wineries
  Wine industry data by state, U.S. grape acerage, etc.

Department of Agriculutural & Resource Economics (DARE) reports:

• Colorado Wine Consumers: Tapping Interest in Local Wines


• The Economic Contribution of the Colorado Wine Industry

Other:

• Grand Junction information site


• CSU Viticulture Department
  Located at the Western Colorado Research Center in Grand Junction.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 02:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Working on a business class team project? Want access to your documents or spreadsheets from any computer with internet access? Check out Google Docs.

I recently used this for a collaborative effort to write up some conference meeting minutes. By simple creating an account in Google Docs, you can create a document or spreadsheet (much like Word) and then invite collaborators to either edit or view only. What I like about Google Docs is the ease of use and the ability to share a document without having to go through email. The other advantage is that you can access the documents from any computer with internet access and Web browser.
Check it out at: http://docs.google.com

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 09:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

While not new, economic gardening programs are cropping up around the country. Begun in Littleton, Colorado in 1987, economic gardening programs are beginning to be offered in communities such as Longmont, Loveland, and others around the country. These programs often work in conjunction with local small business development offices and chambers of commerce to provide local businesses with assistance and resources to aid them in their success. The Littleton website provides a good overview of how Economic Gardening got started.
City of Littleton Economic Gardening Program

Other resources:
Loveland Economic Gardening Program
Longmont Economic Gardening Initiative

The following are two good articles on the topic. Both are available full-text via the Business Source Premier database. Enter the following information into Citation Linker to access.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 04:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)