InfoPeople2: Business Resources: Non-Profit Entities

After I've done the obvious, like perform a keyword search for "nonprofit," the following may be useful to consult:

The Executive Director's Survival Guide: thriving as a non-profit leader, by Mim Carlson. We don't have this book, so I looked it up on WorldCat and found the following subject headings that may be useful to find similar books:

• Nonprofit organizations -- Management.
• Organizations, Nonprofit -- organization & administration. 
• Financial Management.
• Decision Making, Organizational.

To find out whether an organization is a non-profit try referencing:

• The Foundation Directory, by David G. Jacobs, also available at Foundation Center (fdncenter.org)
• Guidestar- from the about page: "we gather and disseminate information about every single IRS-registered nonprofit organization. We provide as much information as we can about each nonprofit's mission, legitimacy, impact, reputation, finances, programs, transparency, governance, and so much more."
• Associations Unlimited - My current system carries the print reference Encyclopedia of Associations, published by AU/ Gale. (as well as the International Organizations set and the Regional, State and Local Organizations set) It is a three volume set, volume one being so large, it is divided into three separate books. Entries include contact info, when founded, number of members, staff, languages for conducting business, a description, awards they give, price to join and more.
• v. 1. pt. 1-2. National Organizations of the U.S. -- Descriptive listings: 
1. Trade, Business and Commercial;
2. Environmental and Ag;
3. Legal, Gov'tal, Public Admin, & Military;
4. Engineering,Tech & Natural and Social Sciences;
5. Educational; 
6. Cultural;
7. Social Welfare;
8. Health and Medical;
9. Public Affairs;
10. Fraternal, Nationality, & Ethnic;
11. Religious;
12. Veterans', Hereditary, & Patriotic;
13. Hobby and Avocational;
14. Athletic and Sports;
15. Labor Unions, Associations, and Federations
16. Chambers of Commerce, Trade and Tourism
17. Greek and Non-Greek Letter Societies, Associations and Federations
18. Fan Clubs
•  v. 1. pt. 3. Name index (I'm disappointed b/c the Name index is pre-sorted into the various keywords and then the org.s are listed alphabetically. I would have liked a straight alphabetical list of the Names, with the page number of where to find it in the main parts 1 or 2) and keyword index. --
•  v. 2. Geographic and executive indexes. - Organizations listed by their location and a listing of the execs and the organization they work for.
• v. 3. Supplement - updates of v.1 parts 1& 2, printed between editions.

For those seeking funds on behalf of the organization there's

• The Annual Register of Grant Support, a print publication published by Information Today
• And while there's no end of books helping people to write a grant proposal, the PDF Writing a Successful Grant Proposal by Barbara Davis for the Minnesota Council on Foundations comes recommended.

And if someone is looking up nonprofits because s/he wants to work for one, recommend searching:

• Opportunity Knocks - I'm not terribly impressed with this site. Basic keyword searches for "librarian" found nothing, for "information" brought up many director positions, for "research" other director positions, as well as chief exec officer. This kind of site I would think would be more used by lower level workers. People in the upper levels have other types of recruitment sources, so there's a mismatch in the type of simple search query to the upper job positions. There are some useful filters on the left-hand side, so you can weed out the jobs by salary or education, geographic location, etc.
  
  My preferred job search strategy is to identify organizations that I would be interested in working for and then contact them directly for their job openings. This way there's more of a connection of employee to employer. It is way more work, but is also more focused. A site like this one is such a shotgun in the barrel and though you never know what gems may come floating up, those gems are obscured by the trash.
• Idealist.org

Learning the RC: More Reader's Advisory Resources

The Reader's Adviser (028 REA 14th ED. v.1-5) covers:

• v1: Best in Reference Works, British Literature & American Literature (different time periods, including up to the mid-20th century genre writers)
• v2: Best in World Literature (General Reference, Hebrew, Yiddish, Middle Eastern, African, Indian Subcontinent, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Southeast Asian (ex. Burma, Lao), Greek, Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Netherlandic, Scandinavian, Russian, East European (ex. Czech, Estonian, Polish), Latin American, Canadian, Caribbean, Australian, New Zealand)
• v3: Best in Social Sciences, History and the Arts (Gen Ref, Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Education, History: World, Ancient, European, African, Middle Eastern, Asia and Pacific, US, Canadian, Latin American; Music & Dance, Art & Architecture, Mass Media (Journalism, Radio & TV, Film,), Folklore, Humor, Pop Culture, Travel & Exploration.
• v4: Best in Philosophy and Religion (Gen Ref, Philosophy: Greek/Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Modern Western, 20th Cen, Asian & African, Contemporary Issues; Religion: Ancient, Eastern, Islam, Judaism, Early & Medieval Christian, Late Christianity (1500-present), Bible & Related, Minority Religions, Contemporary Issues in Religious Thought
• v5: Best in Science, Technology and Medicine [STM] (History of STM, Philosophy of STM, Ethics in STM, S&T and Society, Special Issues in S&T and Society, Engineering & Tech (Design, Inventors, Patents, Flight, etc), Ag and Food Tech, Energy (aka Fuels), Communications Tech, Medicine & Health (Aging, Dentistry, Gynecology, Radiology, etc), Illness & Disease, Clinical Psychology & Psychiatry, Mathematics, Statistics & Probability, Info Science & Computer Science, Astronomy & Space Science, Earth Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Biological Sciences, Ecology & Environmental Science
• v6: the Indexes (author, title, subject)

This looks like the sort of reference work you'd consult for when you are exploring a subject area, or taking a survey class, and you need to draw up a list of "canon" books that you might be expected to read in that class. Or if someone were writing a research paper and needed some titles to get them started, this would be a good book to consult for ideas. Probably, we wouldn't have most of the titles for subjects not on the US or Europe (and maybe not many of them either), but we could find things via ILL or send the person with their list of titles on to a research library like an academic or major city library. The emphasis is on the West, especially Europe and I don't know how specialized it would be (such as wanting books about women in a particular topic, like Vietnam, or women Asian artists of the Chang dynasty (I made that up)). Unfortunately, this text is from the early 1990s, so many of the titles are old. A quick check online and on WorldCat shows there are no new print editions.

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We have a huge collection of two volume editions of a series titled Magill's Literary Annual (028.1 MAG YEAR V1,2). I eyed it askance, wondering how this 60 book, gold cover thing could be of use and easily referenced. In a nutshell, 200 books of "interest to general readers, that reflect publishing trends, that add to the careers of authors being taught and researched in literature programs and that will stand the test of time." It's like a yearly, if you can only read 200 books, this is the list!

At first I was very excited. (To be honest, I still am.) A selection of the thousands of books being published and reviewed in BookList and Publisher's Weekly and Book Page and a myriad of other weekly and monthly review columns, a selection of the most literary, thought to stand the test of time. Then I was sad, because by necessity, the list is a year old. Then I returned to suspicious. "Wait a minute! Who is Magill, and why does he get to pick?" And it turns out he's an actual dude who founded Salem Press and, yeah, we just have to take his word for it. But I like the idea of having the selection for when someone comes along and asks if we can recommend anything for their book club. Something literary, but that people will actually want to read. I also like that the description of the book is about four pages long, giving the book club representative (or the librarian) enough information to get a feel for the book. At the back of the 2nd volume of each annual is a subject index and a category index, which allows you to browse for genres and subjects, when you are just open to serendipity. Also, the beginning of each volume has a complete annotated list for quickly browsing (alphabetically) the list of titles for the year. My one beef with this selection is that we are not told how the books are selected in the first place. What is the criteria? Are they only adult books? Are they only books published in the United States? Are there any translated works? With that aside, the collection provides a focused way to browse for something interesting, educating and entertaining to read.

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We randomly have this booklet called Books Change Lives, Quotes to Treasure. I don't like it. There's no index to search for a quote by a particular author, nor is there an index to search for a quote by subject. Sometimes I like serendipity, but it's not even inspired. Bleh. I'm not even going to include the call number.

Two more genre specific advisory guides:

• Strictly Science Fiction: A guide to Reading Interests (028.9 HER). The chapter titles don't tell me much, but the subject index will start you off looking for those titles specifically about dystopian societies. The edition we have is 2002, so of course the Hunger Games, et al aren't in here, but this would be good for back list titles, the oldies, but goodies for when someone has read everything. Lists of types of Awards and books awarded are included in the resources and appendix.
• The Horror Readers' Advisory: The Librarian's Guide to Vampires, Killer Tomatoes, and Haunted Houses (028.9 SPR). It is slim, but very informative on describing the sub-genres to draw out what people are thinking when they say horror. Is horror for the reader vampires? Or is it mad science gone awry? Every good RA book includes the obligatory lists, for which I'm grateful. I only wish there were one for children, too.

Infopeople Core2: Business Resources: Company and Industry Information Notes

I like that this section opens with a few business questions to give an idea why patrons would want information on businesses and the sorts of details, from company info in preparation for a job interview, to contact info on manufactured products to business research in comparing revenue for businesses in a given market.

Important: Try to learn how the user intends to use the information, as that will inevitably affect which resources you consult to answer the question.

Online resources:

• Of course, the company website. Be aware that information is "what the company wants you to know." Clever to remember that the website tells a crafted tale, so if you're looking to dig up dirt, the company website may not be the place to start. If you can't find a company on a search engine or web directory like Anywho.com, you may try searching for the local...
• ...Chamber of Commerce (ex. the East Sacramento Chamber of Commerce would be a good place to try to track down info of small businesses in that specific area of Sacramento).
• If a patron wants a toll free number, try searching Go Toll Free: http://inter800.com/ (the search domain name that came up in the status bar was yakfree.com!). It is as simple as inputting a "product, service or company name," selecting the state (optional) and indicating the maximum number of results you want. The results will list the full name of matching companies, the state the listed 800 number call and the categories that the particular company covers.

Keyword searches in a catalog should include the terms like:

• corporations
• industry
• sub-keywords to narrow the search such as:
• geographic location: ex. california
• size of business: ex. small
• special characteristics: ex. minority

Then try looking at the subject headings of titles that best match the search for links to other titles in the same subject heading. I also like to go from the OPAC interface to the staff interface in order to browse the subject headings (I have yet to see an OPAC provide a list of subject headings to browse.)(I do this anyway, but thought I'd add it as a reminder.)

Directory resources for searching for companies:
Domestic:

• Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives (332.67 STA 2012 V 1 & 2) V1: Alphabetical listing of over 50K corporations along with contact info, officers names, stock exchange info, description of products/services, NAICS codes, annual sales where available. V2: Alphabetical list of over 77K directors/executives along with business affiliation, titles, addresses, brief biography where available; also Indices: NAICS index, list of corporations by NAICS code, by geography, and Obit section.
• Hoover's Online (hoovers.com) 
• ThomasNet (thomasnet.com)
• Forbes Magazine Lists (forbes.com/lists)
• Inc Magazine's 500 (inc.com/inc500)

International:

• Hoover's Handbook of World Business (338.7 HOO 2013) Profiles of 300 of the "largest, most influential, and [in their opinion] most interesting companies[, private, public and governmental,] based outside the" U.S. Profiles are listed alphabetically and include an overview, history, execs, locations, products, competitors, historical financials. Indices (Companies by Industry, by Headquarters, and list of Execs) and lists of lists (ex. 100 largest by sales) included. This would be a great resource for when someone asks, "what are the top most profitable companies outside of the US."
• Kompass (kompass.com)
• Europages: The European Business Directory (www.europages.com)
• World Business Directory (worldbusinessdir.com)  *community contributed content

Annual Reports and Other Financial Information
Public companies are required to publish an annual report. It may be found on their website, or filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s EDGAR (sec.gov/edgar.shtml) database. If this database is too difficult to use (and it's a government one, so why should it be easy?), try Annualreports.com where you can search by "name, ticker symbol, stock exchange, industry or sector." Private companies are not required to publish an AR (though they may- look to company's website or PR office.)

Reputation of a Company
Need to track down a company that closed (to find old manuals or see if warranty is still good) or research it before you engage in a transaction? You can try reading about it in the news (Lexis Nexis has a good companies-appearing-in-newspapers database.) or contact the Better Business Bureau (locate your local one by searching http://www.bbb.org/us/find-a-bbb) or local Chamber of Commerce, but be aware that they only tell you if there are any outstanding disputes ("unsettled"). They don't certify as "in good standing" any business.

To track down the address of the owners of a business that has closed, contact the Secretary of State for the state in which the headquarters of a business was located.

• (The Texas Secretary of State has an online form to search businesses by "entity name, name of person listed as a registered agent, officer or director of a corporation." It requires requesting an account ahead of time and paying for all searches. 
• State of California has a free online business search, but only for Corporations or LLCs. Search by sole proprietors is not available.)

Referring Company Questions
Essentially a best practice list of pointers, such as being as specific as possible and using statements like "net and gross sales for the past two fiscal years," instead of "financial information" when referring questions to subject specialist.

Industry Information
When researching an industry (as compared to a specific business), knowing the NAICS codes and/or the SIC codes is the way to go. Use US Census Bureau's NAICS page (www.census.gov/epcd/naics02) to convert between the two. Other research tools:

• Current Industrial Reports from the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov/manufacturing/cir/index.html)  
• International Trade Administration (ita.doc.gov)
• Industry Association webpages
• Subscription Databases: ex. LexisNexis database allows you to search for info by NAICS code. 

Assignment: Compare the reports as found on Edgar and Annualreports.com.
Annual Reports was way easier, however they only had the 2011 report in your choice of PDF or HTML. The EDGAR interface was harder to interpret, (there were instructions that I decided not to read), however they had 2012 and 2013 filings, including quarterly reports and so much more! 

Lake Cities Montessori Storytime: the Sea

I'm scheduled to read about 8 times at the school. It just so happens that the summer program is divided into themed days. On the first day that I'll be attending the theme is "The Sea" (cue Disney Mania, Under the Sea, which if I were doing a musical chairs or craft activity, I could play in accompaniment.)

Sea Theme Storytime

Introduce myself – Bring out my visuals (sea shell, camera, sea puppets, boat) and ask if the children can guess what the books I'll be sharing are about. Give my expectations- they listen, but when I ask a question or point to them, it means I'd love to hear their thoughts.

Opening Song as needed: "We are here for storytime." *from Simply Super Storytimes (JR 372.4 CAS)

First book: I'm the biggest thing in the ocean! by Sherry, Kevin – get the sea puppets or make flannel board characters.

Counting rhyme as needed

5 Little Sea Creatures *use flannel board or sea puppets as needed

*from The Big Book of Reading, Rhyming, and Resources by Maddigan and Drennan (JR 027.625 MAD)

Song: The Sharks in the Sea (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus) *from The Big Book of Reading, Rhyming, and Resources by Maddigan and Drennan (JR 027.625 MAD)

Fingerplay as needed: "Open, Shut Them" (I'm ending the above song with a line about the clams in the sea open and shut and this is a good way to transition back to quiet sitting.)

Second book: Flotsam by Wiesner – bring digital camera and film camera to show the difference between the two; bring film in canister and off roll; This is a book that has no words and I’ll need your help in telling the story.

Fingerplay as needed
"Ocean Shell" & "Two Little Fishes"

*from I’m a Little Teapot by Cobb (JR 027.6251 COB)

Final book as needed: The sea house by Zagwyn, Deborah Turney; Show knots in a rope

Craft to hand out: Origami boats and boats for kids to color. 

• Knot tying for the older kids; Need instruction sheets and rope for them to practice.
• Origami boat crafts (http://www.freeprintable.com/view/print-body.html?id=3465 & http://www.origami-instructions.com/easy-origami-boat.html)

Ending Song as needed: Raffi's "The More We Get Together"

As much of the above is in copyrighted texts, I don't have the full program typed up here. I did prepare it for me to have on hand and if I were doing a storytime with parents, I'd hand it out for them so they could sing along.