Reference at Newman Library

The planned maintenance on the proxy server is complete.

Thomson One provides ownership information for public companies.  The reports can be exported to Excel or saved as a PDF file. To get the reports, simply enter the ticker and then choose “Ownership” from the menu on the left.  In addition to the ownership summary, reports are available on:

• Investment manager holders
• Mutual fund holders
• Strategic holders
• Insider holders

I haven’t received confirmation from Systems yet, but it seems like the proxy server may be down right now. I’ve reported it in the Newman Helpdesk system (ticket # 3561).

Current Economic Crisis: Accounting and Auditing Considerations (REF HF5667.6 .C87 2009)

Guidance for auditors from the AICPA. Includes a summary of new regulatory developments and information for understanding fair value accounting.

This pamphlet is part of the AICPA’s Audit Risk Alert series, annual updates on auditing and accounting developments in various industries including real estate, banking, e-business, manufacturing and public utilities. Students doing industry research might find these useful since they cover economic and industry developments and new legislative and regulatory initiatives. (Search by the series title as all industry titles have their own call number.)

Book of the States (REF JK2403 .B6 2009)

This edition includes several essays about state budgets and economic development plans in light of the fiscal crisis.

Encyclopedia of American Journalism (REF PN4855 .V38 2009)

A new one volume encyclopedia that focuses on the history of journalism but covers current issues as well.  Includes biographies of prominent journalists and profiles of significant newpapers, magazines and other media outlets.

Small Business Sourcebook (REF HD2346 .U5S66 2009)

Suggest this source to students in entrepreneurship classes who are researching various types of retail stores, services, and other small businesses. Volume one has more than 340 specific small business profiles. Other volumes cover general small business topics and list small business programs by state, and U.S. federal government agencies specializing is small business assistance. This Gale title now comes in six volumes. It is not available online.

The Structure of American Industry (REF HC106 .S85 2009)

Scholarly essays on 13 U.S. industries written from an economic perspective by industry experts. The essays cover history and structure of the industry, pricing, performance and public policy.  All include a bibliography of books, industry studies and key websites. This is the 12^th edition of this book.

The Conference Board has just published a 40 page report of their Task Force on Executive Compensation.  The report sets forth Guiding Principles for corporate dirctors:

1. Paying for the right things and paying for performance
2. The ‘right’ total compensation
3. Avoid controversial pay practices
4. Credible board oversight of executive compensation
5. Transparent communications and increased dialogue with shareholders

The appendices are interesting and include a survey of performance metrics and background on clawback policies, gross-ups and other pay practices.

Students might want to read this report along with the Conference Board’s annual Top Executive Compensation Report, a survey of the five highest paid executives in over 2800 companies and 14 industry sectors.

Confluence, the new wiki software we are using for the Reference Wiki, offers you a way to get a daily email message listing the pages that have been edited or added that day. If there are no changes or new pages on a day, then there will be no email sent out. This is a great way to keep tabs on any changing content in the wiki. It is worth mentioning that if there are any major changes in the wiki, a blog post here announcing it is also a good idea (as might be the case if a service or policy is added or revised).

Here is a video with instructions on how to log in to the wiki and set up the email notification option. (FYI, there are two buttons for launching the video: the one on the left allows you to view the video in a small window and the one on the right with the four arrows will use the full screen to show you the video, which may make it easier to see what’s going on.)

Late Friday I received a request from a member of the college’s administration for the top industries by employment in NYC.  I found the information in Gauging Employment Prospects in New York City 2009, published by the New York City Labor Market Information Service, which was formed by the New York City Workforce Investment Board, CUNY and the Center for Urban Research.

Sometimes students ask questions that are agriculturally related.  I would like to suggest the following as sources to be  considered:

National Agricultural Library has a well known database called Agricola and has an Ask a Librarian Service.

Cornell University is New York’s land grant university and its agricultural programs and research are known around the world.   Its extension service offers assistance.

New York State’s Agricultural and Marketing Department offers much information about NY State.

The Horticultural Society of New York City offers some assistance to all New Yorkers and has a catalog that can be searched remotely, and a beautiful library.

Rita