A Library Pathfinder

This Pathfinder provides information on how to locate Allegany College of Maryland Library resources on general topics relating to Business.

To Browse
Business-related books can be shelved in various places. You will find most books with call numbers beginning with H, HB, HD, HF.

To Find Books and Nonprint Materials

These are listed in the ACM Library Online Catalog:
Go to the ACM Library Main Page:http://www.allegany.edu/library/ then click on the box “Library Online Catalog.”
You can then choose to search a particular campus collection, e.g., “Bedford County Campus" or “Complete online catalog” or just the "Nonprint collection.”
Note: You may borrow books from any of the campuses.

Not sure what terms to use or ways to search? Browse first:
Browse: To browse business-related subject headings, go to the online library catalog and click on the browse searching box on the left margin, then type “business” (no quote marks needed ), “management,” “accounting,” etc. into the search box and scroll down to “subjects” in the menu on the box to the right.
You will get a list of subject headings that you can browse to see the various subjects of books in our library. Pay attention to any notes e.g. “See also narrower term….” You can click on any of the headings and get a list of materials that are cataloged under that heading.
Search:
Or, you can search by keyword for specific subjects, such as names of companies.
Tip: Be careful when using keywords…you can miss some important items by not using the appropriate terms or misspelling a name. Spend some time thinking of alternate keywords that might describe your topic. Use the Help feature and/or ask for assistance.
Obtaining books from other campuses:
If you locate a book from another campus and would like it to be sent to you, follow these steps:
Go to the Library's main page: http://www.allegany.edu/library/
Click on the box “Interlibrary Loan Requests”. Complete the online form and you will be notified when the book is delivered to your local campus library.

Some Encyclopedias and Reference Books
Online:
An encyclopedia is a good place to start a research topic. For access to the online version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, go to the ACM library main page http://www.allegany.edu/library/ then click on the “Britannica Online” box. Note: for off-campus access you must use the Maryland Digital Library which requires a valid ACM library card. Please stop by your local campus library and ask to be issued one.

Reference Books:
The following are a few of the print reference works on business topics available in the ACM library campus:
Main Library (Cumberland campus):

Accountant's desk handbook Ref HF5635 .A474

Business information sources Ref Z7164.C81 D16

Dictionary of business and management Ref HF1001 .R79

Encyclopedia of busine$$ and finance Ref HF1001 .E52

Hoover's handbook of emerging companies. Ref. HG4057 .A28618

Job seeker's guide to private and public companies. Ref. HF5382.75.U6 J634

NTC's dictionary of trade name origins Ref T324 .R66

The Portable MBA desk reference : an essential business companion Ref HF5356 .P67

Who knows what: the essential business resource book Ref. HF54.52.U5 S73

Bedford County Campus Library (Everett):

Company profiles for students Ref HG4057.C65

The corporate directory of U.S. companies Ref HG 4057.A156468

Encyclopedia of careers and vocational guidance Ref HF 5381. E32

Hoover’s handbook of American business Ref HG 4057. A28617
.
Hoover's handbook of emerging companies Ref. HG4057 .A28618 2004

Occupational outlook handbook Ref HD 8051. A62

Standard & Poor’s Register Ref HG4057.S736

Somerset Campus Library:

Hoover's handbook of emerging companies Ref. HG4057 .A28618

Nonprint Sources:
Nonprint sources, such as videos, can be found in the library's online catalog. If you wish to search for only nonprint items, click on the separate databases in the library online catalog for "Nonprint Collection" and/or "Video Collection." If you wish to browse the shelves, most videos and other nonprint items related to business topics will have call numbers beginning with H, HB, HD, and HF.

Magazines/Periodicals:
Browsing current periodicals is an excellent way to keep current in a subject area…or a way for you to “be inspired” on a topic for a paper or a project.

The ACM Library subscribes to the following business-related periodicals, kept for the most part in the Cumberland campus library:

Advertising Age
Business Review
Executive Excellence
Family Economics Review
Forbes
Fortune
Harvard Business Review
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine
Money
Wall Street Journal

Business and economics articles are also available in such publications as Newsweek, Time and U.S. News and World Report, available in all campus libraries.
Note: Individual issues (except for the current issue) can be borrowed.

Specific articles and other types of literature:
To find specific articles from magazines, newspapers and other publications, go to the ACM library web site http://www.allegany.edu/library/ and click on the appropriate one of the “Online Databases” boxes (on- or off-campus). Note: for off-campus access you must use the Maryland Digital Library and login using the bar code on your ACM library card. If you don’t have a card, please stop by your local campus library and you will be issued one.

For articles about business and economic topics in specialized business publications, search the Business Source Premier database. You might also want to search Academic Search Premier as well as SIRS Knowledge Source and Lexis/Nexis Academic Universe.

Important Tips:
Remember when you are searching with keywords that you must be sure to spell accurately and use a variety of synonyms so that you don’t miss an important article. Take some time to list a variety of keywords that describe your topic. Be sure to refer to the help information for tips on searching. Ask a librarian to help you formulate your search.

In all of these databases, the list of results you get will be lists of citations or references to articles in magazines and other periodicals. Full-text articles (i.e., copies of the entire originals), may or may not be included with your results. If the full-text is not available, you can request an interlibrary loan of the article. To do so, go to the Library’s main page http://www.allegany.edu/library/ and click on the Interlibrary Loan Requests box. Then, complete the online forms and submit. (Often, the article can be photocopied and sent to you via inter-campus courier.) This may take some time (ranging from a day or two to several weeks) …so always allow plenty of time to gather your research!

Photos and Images:
Are you interested in searching for photos or images on a certain topic? The Multimedia Archive is a source that might be of help to you. Go to the library main page and click on the box for online databases, then choose the Multimedia Archive. Be sure to click on the Take a Guided Tour link if it is the first time you are using this source. Ask a librarian to help you find other sources of images on business-related topics.

Newspapers:
If you are interested in finding newspaper articles about business topics, e.g., current news on the economy, specific companies, etc., try searching the National Newspapers database. This includes the full text of major newspapers like the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. Click on the appropriate Online Databases box on the ACM library’s main web page http://www.allegany.edu/library/ and use keywords to search.

Some Web Sites:
Here are a few public web sites you might want to use for business-related information. Click on the links.

Better Business Bureau http://www.bbb.org/

BizLink http://www.bizlink.org/

Business information from U.S. Federal Government http://lib11.library.vanderbilt.edu/diglib/godort.pl?searchtext=Business&Type=Simple&Resource=DB&Website=FDTF

CNN Money http://money.cnn.com/

The Conference Board http://www.conference-board.org/

Free Management Library http://www.mapnp.org/library/

Hoover’s Online http://www.hoovers.com/free/

Small Business Administration http://www.sba.gov/

VIBES—Virtual International Business & Economics Sources http://library.uncc.edu/display/?dept=reference&format=open&page=68

For additional web sites suggested for student use, go to the ACM library main page http://www.allegany.edu/library/ and click on the link “Web Sites for Students.” Then click on the topic “Business.”

Ask for assistance if you need it!

Allegany College of Maryland Library

Main Library, Cumberland, 301-784-5138
Bedford County Campus (Everett): 814-652-9528 ext. 6206
Somerset County Campus: 814-445-9848 ext. 6118

Compiled by C. Prezlock, M.L.S.
ACM, Library, Everett
cprezlock@allegany.edu
9/05