Recently, EDUCAUSE and the New Media Consortium published the 2008 version of The Horizon Report. The 2008 report focuses on six areas of emerging technologies that will have an impact on higher education including grassroots video, collaboration webs, mobile broadband, data mashups, collective intelligence, and social operating systems. Examples are given of institutions and organizations that are using these tools as well as links to further reading. This is an excellent summer read as we all consider ways to use these fabulous tools in learning.

www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI08107.pdf

Enjoy the summer!

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The UN Statistical division has recently launched a new database, UNdata, that searches across all their statistical databases, over 55 million records, making it obviously much easier to search for global statistics. The interface is fairly intuitive and results pages provide information as to what database the statistics are pulled from. The database is available at:
http://data.un.org/

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've just discovered that the OECD is offering access to all their statistics while their new aggregate database, OECD.Stat is in beta. Their website indicates that this will be free for the first part of 2008. Statistics cover a range of topics including agriculture, demographics, finance, education, health, science, productivity, etc. Check it out at:

http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/Default.aspx

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Northern Light started in the mid-nineties as one of numerous search engines vying to organize the Internet in its early days. The website has gone through various forms, including a fee-based service, but will now be offering a free business search engine. The official launch is in mid-April, but is now available in beta. From what I've seen so far, this looks like an excellent resource for finding business-related content on the web.

Recent article from Information Today
http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/nbReader.asp?ArticleId=41368

Northern Light search
http://www.nlsearch.com/home.php

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This doesn't pertain to business or economics exactly, but is an exciting project. Europeana, is a digital library collection that brings together digital content from European museums, archives, libraries, and audio-visual collections. It's expected launch date is November 2008, but you can view a demo and provide feedback on its development. It looks like a very exciting project. Be sure to watch the "boots" video.

http://www.europeana.eu/

Enjoy the weekend!

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 10:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You may or may not have heard that earlier this year the NIH adopted a revised public access policy requiring all peer-reviewed articles that report on NIH funded research to be deposited in PubMed within 12 months of publication. ARL (the Association of Research Libraries) in conjunction with SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) have written a white paper that details how grantees can comply with the new policy. This is available at:
http://www.arl.org/sparc/advocacy/nih/copyright.html
This issue is of high interest within the library community. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 03:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are looking for information on local business news, ColoradoBiz Today is a good source for statewide information. Their website provides video interviews, blogs, web exclusives, executive interviews, business links, lists such as top private and public companies, and an event calendar. RSS feeds are also available for different content sections. Some articles from their print publication, ColoradoBiz Magazine, are available on the website. Check it out at:

ColoradoBiz Today

Additionally, CSU Libraries Regional Business News database provides access to the print magazine's articles from 1993. The database provides the ability to search within the publication and also set up email alerts or RSS alerts when new issues are available.

Regional Business News database

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you are looking for statistics and aren't sure where to start, the U.S. Statistical Abstract is a good starting point. Statistics cover a range of topics including, but not limited to, demographics and business enterprise stats. Editions back to 1878 are available free online through the U.S. Census Burea.

The 2008 Statistical Abstract
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/index.html

Earlier and historical editions
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/past_years.html

Happy statistics hunting!

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 02:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Something fun for Monday...
If you're interested in a change a pace from Google, try Ms.Dewey, an experimental version of Microsoft's Live Search. Enjoy!
http://www.msdewey.com/

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just a reminder that I am in Rockwell's south foyer area on Tuesdays from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. with laptop - ready and willing to answer your business reference/research questions. Pop by and say hello!

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Welcome back to a rather chilly start to spring semester! Please remember that the library and librarians are here to help (and we have a coffee cart!).

A couple of updates:

Reshelving of Reference collection. The reference books are being rearranged to accomodate more computer work stations. This is a work is progress and may take a few weeks to complete. In the meantime, if you can't find something, please ask at the Information Desk.

Enhancements. Over the break, carpeting was replaced in the EIC (main computer workstation area). Additionally, last fall more group study rooms were added. (More reasons to visit the library).

Again, welcome back. I look forward to working with you all this semester. -Louise

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Faculty - please contact me if you would like me to come speak with your classes about library resources. I'm currently booking classes for the spring semester. I can either come to your class or you can bring your class to the library to one of our electronic classrooms. Of course if this doesn't work with your schedule, I'm happy to put together a resource guide handout for research projects or assignments.

Thanks! Hope you all had a fabulous winter break!

-Louise

Louise.Feldmann@Colostate.edu
491-4262

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Traveling over the break? The following two websites allow you to share your photos, videos, and stay in touch with friends and family. Enjoy!

TravelPod
http://www.travelpod.com

TravelBlog
http://www.travelblog.org

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 03:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

About this time of year, I start getting numerous questions regarding the need for statistical information. If you don't know where to start and Google isn't turning up anything useful, try the following:

Statistical Sources Resource Guide
http://lib.colostate.edu/research/statsrc/
This is a good annotated list of places to start looking for statistics. Highlights: Nationmaster is great for international information; Larimer County Compass is excellent for local info; Statistical Sources on the Web from U of Michigan is a good clearinghouse of free online resources organized by category.

Google Government Search
http://www.google.com/ig/usgov
I"ve located hard-to-find government statistics using this specialized search through Google. It's worth a try to see what pops up. Results are limited to government sites.

Hopefully, that'll help you get started. If you are still not finding what you need, feel free to contact me at Louise.Feldmann@Colostate.edu

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CSU Libraries now has electronic access to Wall Street Journal (eastern edition) articles from 1989 to the present. Access is available in databases such as Business Source Premier and Academic Search Premier via the FindIt@CSU button. You can also browse the WSJ by entering the database directly (see below for the link). Access is also available via the journals search page. As with other Libraries electronic resources, you will need to have a library PIN set up in order to access from off-campus.

Wall Street Journal (ProQuest database)

Journals search page

Library PIN login (set up)

Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns at Louise.Feldmann@Colostate.edu

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hoover's reports are available in the LexisNexis Academic database - although they are a bit buried. Here's how to find them.

In the LexisNexis database (available from the Libraries Research Database link), click on the "Sources" tab at the top of the screen. At the far right of the next screen, you will see a box that say's "find a source." Type "hoovers" in the box and click "go." The next page will allow you to select the type of Hoover's report that you want to search including Company profiles, IPO reports, and industry reports. Just mark the box next to the ones you want and then click "ok - continue" (red box at the far right of screen). You can then search within the hoover's publications that you have selected.

http://lib.colostate.edu/databases/

If you have difficulties, please don't hesitate to contact me and I'll help you out.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love listening to NPR's Marketplace from American Public Media. They have interesting stories and I can usually catch the morning edition while I drive to work. They also have an excellent website where you can view transcripts of stories and listen to podcasts. How do the Colorado Rockies fit in? Well, this morning there was an interview with their sports commentator, Diana Nyad, about the baseball industry and big budgets vs. small. Here's a link to the transcript:
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/10/12/big_wins_on_small_budgets/

The book mentioned in the story, Moneyball: the art of winning an unfair game by Michael Lewis, is available through CSU Libraries or through the regional catalog, Prospector.
http://prospector.coalliance.org/screens/mainmenu.html

Marketplace website: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/

Go Rockies!

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

Mediascrape provides videos from television news agencies around the world. With Google Maps integrated into its search interface, you can browse news videos by country or search by topic. Mediascrape's press page provides links to articles with more info http://www.mediascrape.com/Site/Press.aspx

Check it out at: http://www.mediascrape.com/News/Home.aspx

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

CSU Libraries now has a subscription to NBER (National Bureau of Economic Research) Working Papers. You can access it via the Libraries catalog or directly through the NBER Working Papers website.
Catalog record:
http://catalog.library.colostate.edu/record=b2857136
NBER:
http://papers.nber.org/papers/

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I discovered this website this morning via a post on BusinessWeek Online with the entirely provacative title of "Gigapan: Don't click this site if you want to get anything done today." Hard to resist. Gigapan is a most excellent website of images that you can zoom around within. This is a development of the Global Connection Project with partners that include Carnegie Mellon, Google, and NASA Ames Research Center. Check it out at:

http://gigapan.org/searchGigapansList.php?keywords=&sort=popular

Global Connection Project
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~globalconn/

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The New York Times has announced that as of the evening of Tuesday, September 18th, they will no longer be charging for portions of their web site, specifically the TimesSelect portion. The newspaper is moving to an advertising based revenue model. Older articles, those in the public domain (1851 to 1922), will be freely available as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/18/business/media/18times.html?hp

CSU Libraries provides full-text access to The New York Times via the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database. Coverage is from 1851 and includes the PDFs of pages. The database is located under the New York Times in the Research Databases title list.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wondering where to start with your research assignment? Not at all organized? The Library undergrad and grad webpages now have an assignment calculator feature. This tool allows you to input a start and due date for an assignment. Once entered, the results page helps to structure your work on an assignment with links to helpful web sites. You can also enter your email, so that you get reminders to, hopefully, keep you on track. Scroll down on each of the following pages to find the assignment calculator.

http://lib.colostate.edu/users/undergrad.html

http://lib.colostate.edu/users/grad.html

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 03:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a Friday afternoon tip. If you have a citation to an article and want to locate it in the library, use the Libraries Citation Linker feature. Go to the Research Databases link from the Libraries homepage. On the left navigation bar, you will see a link to "Find an article from a citation." Click on this. Once at the Citation Linker form, enter the information you have - you will need to enter the journal title at least - then click on "FindIt@CSU." The results indicate if the item is available electronically and links to those resources. It also provides a link to the catalog record if the item is available in print. If the Libraries does not have that article or journal, you may request it from interlibrary loan and a link to this is also provided.

Citation Linker form:
http://lib.colostate.edu/sfx/ejournals/

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

Welcome back! As we start the fall semester, I'd like to point out a service that the library provides called Document Delivery. This service is provided through our interlibrary loan department and enables patrons to receive copies of articles via their Interlibrary loan account. This applies to articles that the library has only in print format and so is not available electronically. Instead of you having to come to the library, find the article, and make a copy, you can request that ILL do this for you. To use this service, you will need to set up an ILL account if you do not already have one. To request an item via document delivery, open your account, click on the document delivery link, and fill out the information.

• Interlibrary loan (ILL) - login and account set-up https://illiad.library.colostate.edu/illiad/logon.html
• Interlibrary loan questions
  (970) 491-1862

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Okay. We are finally ready to unveil our attempts at podcasting. I have created 5 short podcasts having to do with basic business research. Please let me know what you think! Email me at Louise.Feldmann@Colostate.edu

• Business Podcasts http://lib.colostate.edu/podcasts/BusinessResearch/
• General library Podcasts
  http://lib.colostate.edu/podcasts

Podcasts addressing basic library research.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hope your summer has been fabulous! The library has been busy this summer in preparation for the fall semester. We are in the process of adding more seating and several more group study rooms. During the fall semester, you will also notice that the reference collection will be rearranged a bit. About a quarter of the current collection will be moved to Reference South (near the maps) to make room for more computer study space. The business reference books will primarily remain in the Reference area. Volumes being moved to Ref South include older S&P Industry Surveys (1980's to 2002) and Moody's manuals from the 90's. Any changes to the location of items will be noted in the catalog records for items.
Please contact me if you have any questions.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is just a note to let readers know that I'll be posting to the blog infrequently during the summer break. Regular blog posts will resume when CSU's fall semester starts in August.

Thanks to everyone who has been reading the blog! Happy Summer!

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm quickly catching the podcasting bug and subscribe to several podcasts via iTunes to listen to on my iPod while walking or working out. The following are some good business podcasts and are all available on iTunes, which is free to download . You can listen to all via your computer; there's no need to have an mp3 player or iPod. These just provide a flavor for what's out there. Browse through the business podcasts at iTunes for many more (click on "podcasts" in the iTunes Store).

• American Public Media Marketplace
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/pm.html
• BusinessWeek

http://www.businessweek.com/search/podcasting.htm
BW provides a variety of podcast shows. I had difficulty accessing from their webpage but no problem via iTunes which organizes their podcasts nicely.
• HBR's IdeaCast

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/hbr/hbr_ideacast.jhtml
• The Wall Street Journal

Provide a variety of podcasts. iTunes is the easiest access point.
• Coffee Break Spanish

Okay, this isn't a business podcast, but what better way to learn spanish in a few minutes every day!
Available in iTunes.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm a big fan of social software, although admittedly I'm not up to speed on everything that's out there. Here are some of my current favorites:

• del.icio.us
  http://del.icio.us/

Social bookmarking site. Organize your bookmarks and create lists. Good summer project :)

• LibraryThing
  http://www.librarything.com/

Okay, this is a bit librarian-esque, but if you've got a book collection you want to organize, very cool.

• Ning
  http://www.ning.com/

Create your own social network. All kinds of groups are on here. It's worth a look.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 08:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple of entries ago, I talked about alert services. EBSCO databases now offers RSS feeds for customized searches. This means that you have the option to not only read alerts via email but also via your news feed reader. For more information: http://support.epnet.com/support_news/detail.php?id=204
EBSCO databases that are relevant to business and economics researchers are Business Source Premier, EconLit, and Communication and Mass Media Complete.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I've created a new resource guide covering global social sustainable enterprise. I'm hoping that this will provide some background resources for those students and faculty involved in the new GSSE master's program starting this fall. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for improving the guide or of resources to include in the guide. The link is below. It can also be located via the subject guides list available from the Libraries homepage. Click on "business." Once on the business resources page, it's located under the "resource and course guides" link.

http://lib.colostate.edu/research/business/globalsocial.html

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 09:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Many of CSU Libraries databases provide alert services. These services allow you to set up a database search that will run automatically weekly or monthly with results, either article citations or links to the full text of the articles, delivered directly to your email. In addition, some publishers provide table of contents (TOC) alerts. Detailed information about databases and publishers that provide alert services and how to set them up are available on the Libraries Alerts Services web page at http://lib.colostate.edu/research/alerts/

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 03:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently, there has been quite a bit of discussion on the business librarian's listserv, BUSLIB-L, about citation styles used for business. The general consensus is that there is no standard for business. If you are submitting an article for publication in a business journal, you'll obviously want to use the style that the journal calls for in its manuscript submisssion information. If you're a student, use the guide that your professor recommends or requires. The Library provides current print style guides in the reference area behind the information desk as well as links to online information. Please contact the Libraries information desk if you have any questions.

• Style Guides
  http://lib.colostate.edu/research/style/

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

The library has acquired a new online database that provides electronic access to many popular business reference titles that we previously only had in print. The database includes several titles of interest to business students and faculty such as:

• Business Plans Handbook (volumes 1-12)


• Encyclopedia of Small Business


• Encyclopedia of Major Marketing Campaigns


• Manufacturing and Distribution U.S.A.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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)

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)

You can now access me (Louise Feldmann, CSU's Business Librarian) via IM. You can either simply send a message using the Meebo widget located on the lower right of the Business Blog's main page or contact me using IM in Yahoo!, Google, or aim. My screen name is louisebizlib. I don't have set hours, but will be available and monitoring my IM accounts when I'm in my office.

Posted by Louise Feldmann at 01:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)