ABI-GLOBAL (MCK ONLY) Covers last 5 years.
A CD-ROM database which retrieves very well-written abstracts to approximately 1000 business and trade journals, over 200 of which are international in scope. Topics covered include information on companies and products, business conditions and trends, etc.

CIS CONGRESSIONAL MASTERFILE. 2. (GOVDOC) (1970-1990).
A CD-ROM database which contains bibliographic records for Congressional publications (documents, hearing, committee prints, reports and legislative histories). Print and/or microfiche copies of the documents indexed are available in Government Documents. The print equivalent is: CIS/Index to Publications of the U.S. Congress. JK 8 .C6 1970- (GOVDOC). Note: Use the print version to update the CD-ROM.

FIRSTSEARCH (MCK, HBK, EPSL, and remotely for a fee)
This service will access a variety of different databases which can be used to retrieve information in the areas of international business and trade. Consult the following FIRSTSEARCH databases:

BUSINESS NEWS. (BusinessNews)
A wire service database providing access to news items gleaned from over 350 wire and other news services. Each record consists of a headline, one or two sentences from the lead paragraphs, word count of the full story, and the news source. Updated every weekday and contains two weeks' worth of news stories.

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS. (BusinessOrgs)
A guide to over 25,000 new and established organizations, agencies, and publications that promote, coordinate, represent, study, and serve business and industry worldwide.

BUSINESS PERIODICALS INDEX. (BusPerInd) 1982-.
Also available in print REF Z 7164 .C81 B983 (MCK, HBK)
Indexes approximately 400 business periodicals ranging from scholarly publications (e.g.,Harvard Business Review) to trade publications (e.g.,Advertising Age). Some examples of search strategies in international business are: su:hong kong computers trade; su:north american free trade agreement.

WILSON BUSINESS ABSTRACTS. (WilBusAbs) 1986-.
(No print equivalent)
Indexes and abstracts over 300 international English-language business periodicals. The abstracts are included from June, 1990.

GPO. 1976-.
(Also available on CD-ROM in GOVDOC)
Indexes reports and hearings of Congressional committees, Congressional debates and records, judiciary materials, documents issued by executive departments, and documents issued by the Office of the President.

NEWSPAPER ABSTRACTS.
(NewsAbs) 1989-.
A selective database abstracting over 25 national and regional newspapers.

PAIS DECADE. (PAIS)
Covers the last 10 years. (Print equivalents include PAIS Bulletin REF Z 7163 .P9 (MCK, HBK), PAIS Foreign Language Index REF Z 7163 .P81 (MCK), PAIS International in Print REF H 1 .P3 (HBK, MCK).
This is a selective database indexing periodicals, some books, pamphlets and government documents in economics and public affairs. Emphasis is on factual and statistical information. Indexes materials in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and English.

AMERICAN BUSINESS INFORMATION.
Directory information on over 9 millions businesses in the US. Information includes address, key people and where available sales figures.

WORLDSCOPE.
Derived from corporate annual and 10K reports, disclosure statements, newspapers and wire services each record includes description of business, selected financials, key ratios and officers.

VICTOR (online catalog for UMCP Libraries)
The online catalog for the UMCP libraries is called VICTOR. VICTOR is a system which was developed by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL) and, as a result, VICTOR is linked into the CARL network. The College Park database on VICTOR will identify books which are available in the UMCP Libraries on a given topic. Consult the UMCP Libraries guide Introducing VICTOR: the Online Library Catalog of the University of Maryland System.

To locate books in the UMCP Libraries, search the College Park database in VICTOR. Books in the VICTOR catalog are categorized according to the Library of Congress Subject Headings, copies of which are located near the online catalogs. To find books on international business, do a WORD search on the name of a country, e.g., CHINA, plus one of the following: BUSINESS OR COMMERCE OR IMPORT OR EXPORT, etc. An excellent series of books which analyzes foreign countries, describing the economic, political and social systems is the Area Handbook Series: Country Studies. To identify which titles are available, do a WORD on the name of the country, plus AREA HANDBOOK. The area handbooks may also be found using a CD-ROM database entitled Countries of the World (GOVDOC).

Some of the indexes available via the VICTOR/CARL system which would be useful in the area of international business are:

ABI/INFORM
Detailed abstracts to about 800 business & trade journals. Topics covered include business conditions & trends, corporate strtegies and tactics, management policies and techniques.

Business Index & ASAP
Subject, personal name, industry, product, company, SIC-Code, and geographical locations may be searched. Indexes around 800 business and trade journals overlapping with ABI-GLOBAL in many cases.

National Newspaper Index
Provides subject and author access to articles from the following U.S. newspapers: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post.

UnCover
This database contains records describing journals and their contents. It includes more than 12,000 titles and more than 2,000,000 articles. Use keywords (e.g., TOP 500 FOREIGN). Use this database to find articles published after 1987.

Consult with a Reference Librarian for further assistance.

Non-Bibliographies Databases:

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DOW JONES NEWS RETRIEVAL(MCK, HBK)
An online system which provides access to a variety of financial and general information on corporations and industries including annual reports, brokerage house reports, earning forecasts, analysts recommendations and current and historical stock quotes. Although many of the files are domestically oriented, some files of interest to researchers of foreign corporations and international business are:

DJNR//Kyodo
Offers full-text, same day news of major business, financial and political news from Japan.

DJNR//MMS
A full-text weekly survey of U.S. money market and foreign exchange trends.

DJNR//Dowquest
A full-text news retrieval service covering selected articles from 150 business publications over the last six months. The Wall Street Journal (see also the printed index REF HG 1 .W26 (MCK, HBK)), Includes Barron's, Business Week, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, Money, and Washington Post.

DJNR//Worldscope
Offers comprehensive financial profiles of more than 6,500 major companies in 25 countries. Covers both publicly traded and non-traded companies.

DJNR//CANADA
Selected financial and market information on 2,400 public, private and crown Canadian Corporations.

DJNR//WIRES
Full text breaking news and press releases reporting on business, financial and economic news from across the US and around the world, as well as from companies and government organizations.

GATEWAY JAPAN (MCK)
An on-line database offering access to Japan-focused information, including news clippings, Congressional Research Service reports, biographies of Japan specialists, government documents and reports, Japan Economic Institute indexes, monthly and weekly business reports, profiles on leading organizations and institutions, exchanges, internships and research and funding sources.

LEGI-SLATE 1985-. (GOVDOC)

An online, full-text database containing texts of Congressional bills and their legislative histories (96th Congress - ), committee hearing schedules, Congressional Record text (100th Congress- ), recorded committee or floor votes, information on Congressional members, and text or citations of selected articles from Washington Post, CQ Weekly Report, and the National Journal.

LEXIS/NEXIS (MCK, HBK, GOVDOC)

Many full-text databases covering all facets of international business and trade are accessed through this online service. Access is limited to UMCP/ UMUC students and faculty.

To learn how to use LEXIS/NEXIS it is recommended that researchers consult an interactive tutorial available on workstation 5 in McKeldin Library. Students should budget approximately 2 hours to complete a tutorial.

Primary libraries to consider probing on LEXIS/NEXIS include:

ASIAPC, CANADA, EUROPE & NSAMER
If the search can be defined in terms of a particular country or geographic region, the ASIAPC (Asia,Pacific), CANADA, EUROPE, and NSAMER (North and South America) libraries enable the researcher to group countries or regions or one specific country, and will access materials such as business contacts, company information, market research reports, extremely current business information news, as well as law, legislation, treaties, and country profiles. Current access to the publications issued by Business International Corporation can be very effectively accessed by using these databases on LEXIS/NEXIS. The printed index Business International Index REF HD 69 .I7 B891 (MCK ONLY) is good for retrospective searching. Included in both are Business Eastern Europe, Business Europe, Business Latin America, Business International, Business International Money Report, Business International Forecasting Services, and others.

COMPNY
The COMPNY library is an excellent place to begin when looking for information on a specific international corporation. An excellent way to begin is to try the COMPNY file within the COMPNY library. By requesting a segment search on the name of the company; e.g. COMPANY (Honda). LEXIS/NEXIS will search the library and group various types of information together such as SEC filings (in the case of a foreign corporation doing business in the U.S.,a 20-F report could be very useful ), as well as stock report information, market guide profiles, Hoppen stedt Reports, Company Intelligence Reports, GBI Worldwide Company Reports and many other groupings which may be useful .

ITRADE
The ITRADE library covers legal aspects of international trade. Court decisions and regulatory law aspects of international trade including customs, export-import, and tax aspects of doing business abroad are included.

NEWS
The NEWS library is a comprehensive database which will access full-text articles found in national and regional newspapers, wire services, business and trade magazines and newsletters.

MARKET
The MARKET library focuses on market research and analysis. There are files found in this library which specifically address the international aspects of products, services, industries, and corpora tions/competitors.

WORLD
The WORLD library can be an excellent place to find information on a global scale on business opportunities, company information, news, law and business analysis.

Additionally, LEXIS/NEXIS contains various international law databases including the INTLAW library. European Community (EURCOM), French law and many others can be useful, particularly when researching regulatory, statutory, and case law in relation to a particular product or industry in a country or region.

NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK (NTDB) Covers the last 2 years.(GOVDOC)

The NTDB contains over 100,000 different documents, tables and time series accessed on CD-ROM. The CD-ROM is updated every month and contains on two discs 2 years of materials.

The NTDB can be used to learn about export markets, to analyze patterns of imports and exports by country and commodity, to learn about trade practices of foreign countries, and to develop contacts for distributing their products. The NTDB includes the most recent trade promotion, "how-to", and international economics data from 15 federal agencies on this product. There are two discs: the first one houses the NTDB; and the second disc contains the FTI (Foreign Traders Index) and the Export Yellow Pages. The FTI accesses the names and addresses of foreign contacts. Commodities may be accessed by using the Harmonized Code number (see entry under U.S. Exports and U.S. Imports below for places to access these numbers).

PREDICASTS F & S INDEX PLUS TEXT: INTERNATIONAL (MCK)

A CD-ROM database offering access to company, product and industry information from over 750 business-oriented newspapers, trade publications and special reports. In some cases, full-text of the publication is provided on disc; in others, an excerpt. Coverage is for the latest two years. Print equivalents which will provide retrospective indexing include: Predicasts F & S Index: Europe. Monthly. 1978-. (REF Z 7164 .C81 F841 shelved in the MCK Business/Law Alcove) and Predicasts F & S Index: International. Monthly. 1978- (REF Z 7164 .C81 F8311 shelved in MCK Business/Law Alcove).

U.S. EXPORTS AND U.S. IMPORTS 1990-. (GOVDOC)

A CD-ROM database which permits access to international trade statistics. Monthly and year-to-date statistics are provided for quantity and value in U.S. dollars, broken down by commodity, country of origin or destination, and port of unloading or entry or port of embarkation. Commodities are listed in numerical order according to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. GOVDOC has a copy of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule under SUDOCS number ITC 1.10:. MCK REF also has a copy of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule included in a volume called the U.S. Custom House Guide (MCK REF HJ6622.A351).

Although access to materials is facilitated by use of the Automated Reference Sources, the value of the printed sources available in the UMCP Libraries should not be overlooked. Many times it is easier to use a current print source than to struggle with a database. Some of the most important print sources in the area of international business and trade are listed below. If you need to locate additional mono graphic/serials available in the UMCP Libraries, consult this guide under Automated Reference Sources - VICTOR.

Guides:

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Encyclopedia of Geographic Information Sources4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 1985 CALL NUMBER: REF HF 5341 .E53 1988 FOLIO
(MCK ONLY)
For each country includes bibliographies, gazetteers, government and trade offices, guides to doing business, and statistical sources.

Exporter's Encyclopaedia. N.Y.: Dun and Bradstreet International, 1982- .
CALL NUMBER: REF HF 1009.5 .E9
(MCK ONLY)
Gives basic information on trading with foreign countries, including how to file an export order, trade regulations, and U.S. government offices which offer trade assistance.

Hoopes, David S. Global Guide to International Business. N.Y.: Facts on Files, 1983.
CALL NUMBER: REF HF 54.5 .H66
(MCK ONLY)
Although this source is dated, it can be used as a "first stop reference point for persons with any questions about the practical aspects of any phase of international business operations." Covers sources of information for management, organizations, finance, regulations, marketing for different areas of the world and individual countries.

Pagell, Ruth A. International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx, 1994.
CALL NUMBER: REF HF 54.5 .P33 1994
(MCK ONLY)
An excellent guide to international sources and information including company information, accounting standards worldwide, marketing, industrial and economic statistics, and international transactions.

Country Overviews, Tax Management, and "How To" Manuals:

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Bureau of National Affairs. Tax Management Portfolios. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Affairs, 1975-.
CALL NUMBER: REF KF 6289 .A1 T35
(MCK ONLY)
This loose-leaf service offers a Foreign Income Series which is of special interest to students of international business and trade. Especially useful for international tax law, this series covers all aspects of business operations in a variety of countries, information on nonresident individuals, tax aspects of foreign currency, and many more special topics.

Business International. Financing Foreign Operations. N.Y.: Business International, 1965-.
CALL NUMBER: REF HG 4538 .B84 FOLIO
(MCK ONLY)
Detailed, current information on how to finance business in other countries. Gives country overviews, including currency considerations, sources of capital, regulations, tax incentives, etc.

Business International. IL & T. Investing, Licensing and Trading Conditions Abroad. N.Y.: Business International, 1965-.
CALL NUMBER: REF HG 4538 .B85 FOLIO
(MCK ONLY)
For each country covered, gives information of foreign investment, interpretation of the laws, rules and regulations governing establishment of new enterprises, and limitations on foreign ownership and taxation.

Information Guide for Doing Business in.... N.Y.: Price Waterhouse. Irregular.
CALL NUMBER: REF HF 1205 .P71
(MCK ONLY)
A series covering almost 100 foreign countries, with each country guide pro viding detailed information on the investment climate in that country as well as accounting and taxation procedures.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Economic Surveys. 1968 -.
To access, type in VICTOR: //wOECD ECONOMIC SURVEYS + (name of the country)
CALL NUMBER: REF various call numbers
(MCK ONLY)
Includes information for 25 member countries on domestic trends, external transactions, economic policy, short-term forecasts, chronology of main economic policy measures, statistical annex, chart of basic statistics, and international comparisons.

Reference Book for World Traders. N.Y.: Croner Publications.
CALL NUMBER: REF HF 1010 .C66
(MCK ONLY)
The three volumes cover information required for planning and executing exports-imports to and from all foreign countries. Lists industry and professional associations, marketing publications, marketing research associations, etc.

U.S. Department of State. Office of Media Services. Back ground Notes. Annual
CALL NUMBER: S 1.123:
(GOVDOC, HBK)
U.S. Department of State. Office of Media Services. Back ground Notes. Annual. (GOVDOC, HBK) Covers the economy, people, history, culture and government of about 160 countries. Revised annually.

Directories of International and Foreign Corporations:

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See UMCP Libraries guide "Industry and Corporation Directories" available at the McKeldin Library Reference Desk.

Serial Publications & Indexes to Periodicals:

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Foreign Broadcast Information Service. Daily Reports. (FBIS) Daily (Monday - Friday) (GOVDOC - Consult with a Reference Librarian)
CALL NUMBER: PrEx
English translations of information collected daily from foreign broadcasts, news accounts, newspapers, periodicals, and government statements.

Statistical Sources:

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See UMCP Libraries Guide "International Statistics" available at the McKeldin Library Consultation Area.

SECTION III: INTERNET LINKS OF INTEREST

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Central European Regional Research Organization(CERRO)

Country Reports on Economic Policy and Trade Practices for 1992

International Market Insight Report

International Statistics and Economic Trend

National Trade Data Bank(NTDB)

Russian and East European Studies Home Pages

TheWorld(TM) Guide to International Trade

THOMAS Legislative Information on the Internet

U.S. Council for International Business

World Bank Public Information Center(PIC)

Yahoo: International Trade

Return to list of library guides.

This guide is an June 1994 revision of a McKeldin Library Guide originally produced in March of 1992. It was last updated on July 26, 1995.