Reference materials are an excellent starting point for acquiring a broad overview of your topic. They are reserved for in-library use only. Depending on your topic, you may want to consult the following tools:
ALMANACS & YEARBOOKS
Canada Year Book
Annual source of statistics and political, social and economic information.
REF 317.1 CAN 2007
Canadian Almanac & Directory
Annual guide to Canadian information, including a section on Business & Finance and a Web site directory.
REF 971.0025 CAN 2005
Scott's Canadian Sourcebook
Annual source of Canadian information, including financial and business information; also provides directory information for organizations and associations.
REF 971.0025 SCO 2004
DICTIONARIES
The Canadian Dictionary of Business and Economics
Defines standard business and economics terms in a Canadian context.
REF 330.03 CRA
Oxford English Dictionary Online
If off-campus, contact Public Services Librarian for username/password.
DIRECTORIES
Services for you: Guide to Government of Canada Services in Alberta = Services pour vous : guide des services du gouvernement du Canada en Alberta Canada. Government of Canada.
362.025 CAN 2003
English version also available online.
Human Services Resource Directory
361.0025 MAC 1999
The Canadian Business Guide
Contact information for Canadian businesses, corporations and government departments.
REF 338.7025 CAN vols. 1-6
The National Business & Communications Directory
Contact information, including e-mail/Web site addresses, for over 200,000 Canadian companies, organized by province and industry.
REF 338.7025 NAT 1998
International Directory of Company Histories Provides histories of existing companies, organized by industry.
REF 338.74 INT vols. 1-6
MISCELLANEOUS GUIDES
Teach yourself visually Microsoft Office 2007
The basics of Microsoft Office, including file management, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Access, Outlook and Publisher.
005.5 KIN 2007
Microsoft Office Word 2007 inside out
Learn everything you need to know for working with Word 2007; how to create custom forms and publish Web pages; make use of research and reference tools; format documents using templates, wizards, add-ins, and XML.
005.52 MUR 2007
The Professional Secretary's Handbook. Management Skills
651.374 SPE 1997
Secrets of Face-to-face Communication: How to Communicate With Power
658.452 BEN 2003
General Collection
WebCat & Library of Congress Subject Headings
The WebCat is the Library's computerized catalogue. It is the listing of books, videos, and journals available in the Library. You can locate material on specific topics by performing a Subject Heading search. Portage College Library uses Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Some sample headings for Office Administration you can perform a search on in the WebCat:
Accounting
Human services
Employees
Management
Marketing
New business enterprises
Occupations
Public relations
Small business
Business communication
Meetings
Office management
Office procedures
Word processing
Work (psychological aspects)
The Library uses the Dewey Decimal Classification System to group books and videos together by subject on the library shelves. The call number on the WebCat corresponds to the number on the label on the spine of the book (e.g. 155.4 BEE). Most business materials are shelved in the 650 section.
Examples
651.3 - Office management
651.374 - Secretarial and related services
651.4 - Records management
652.5 - Word processing
658.456 - Meetings
Newspapers, Journals & Magazines
Periodicals are published at regular intervals, generally more frequently than annually. Each issue is numbered and/or dated consecutively, and normally contains separate articles, stories, or other writings. Scanning current issues of periodicals in your subject area can be useful when you are trying to think of a topic.
Canadian Business
Consumer Reports
The Globe & Mail Report on Business
Harvard Business Review
Electronic Databases
An electronic database is an index of articles in magazines, journals and newspapers. Portage Library subscribes to a number of Web-based electronic databases. The databases that you will find useful for your studies are:
Business Source Complete contains far more active, peer-reviewed, business related journals than any other database currently available. As part of the comprehensive coverage offered by this database, indexing and abstracts for the most important scholarly business journals back to 1886 are included.
Canadian Newsstand offers unparalleled access to the full text of Canadian newspapers.
CPI.Q. (Canadian Periodicals) provides access to articles from Canadian magazines, newspapers and journals including Globe and Mail, Canadian Biographies, Alberta Venture, Alberta Business, etc. Full-text articles are available.
MasterFILE Premier
Covering virtually every subject area of general interest, MasterFILE Premier also includes nearly 500 full text reference books, biographies, primary source documents, and an Image Collection of photos, maps and flags. This database is updated daily.
Regional Business News incorporates coverage of 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States. This database is updated on a daily basis. Full text articles are available.
Access to databases is restricted to the Portage College students, faculty and staff.
Websites
The Internet is a rich source of material. The sites listed here are just a starting point. If you are looking for a specific topic, try typing keywords into one of the basic search tools such as Yahoo, AltaVista, Google, etc.
Alberta Learning Information Service-OCCINFO
Occupational descriptions for over 1000 careers, with particular reference to Alberta data. Outlines duties, educational requirements, working conditions, salary, and employment trends and lists contact information.
Government of Alberta
Access a variety of Alberta Government information. Click on "Business in Alberta" to link to financial, business & investment, international trade, resources, and labour information.
Alberta Associations & Organizations
Business and industry associations in Alberta.
Statistics Canada
A variety of statistical data, including: monthly and quarterly measures of economic performance for Canada and the provinces, annual data covering most aspects of Canada's economy, and statistical profiles of Canadian communities.
Administrative Professionals
American site with online articles relating to office administration, links to information on careers, technology, and reference links.
International Association of Administrative Professionals
Professional website featuring information on industry trends, career advice, job links and more.
