ASM 475
Library and Web resources

Assistance

Kathie Richardson
Agricultural Sciences Librarian
Office phone: 231-5912 or 231-8879
e-mail: kathie.richardson@ndsu.edu

Online Catalogs

Selected book and web resources

  • North Dakota Agricultural Statistics Annually detailed statistical summary production and price and economic information for North Dakota crops & livestock , farming and ranching. For current prices Agweek or other newspapers have good sources and/or link to commodity information.
  • NDSU Extension: Custom Farm Work Rates
  • Industry ratios:
    RMA annual statement studies (Ref HF5681.B2 R6)
    Industry norms and key business ratios : (Ref HF5681.R25 I53)
  • Business Plans Handbook (Reference HD 62.7 B865) Also search our ODIN online catalog (Search Subject Heading Keyword business planning and limit by date)
  • Appropriate Technology Library. A collection of thousands of books and documents relating to technology appropriate to small scale enterprises. Index is available on the Appropriate Technology web site; full text is available on CD-ROM (ask at the reference desk)
  • Wages for North Dakota Jobs, an annual occupational wage survey conducted by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Links are available to similar data from other states. Also available in print: Reference HD4976.N9 J66
  • Pride of North Dakota Offers marketing information, mentoring, the Shop North Dakota page.

Selected Periodical & Journal Indexes

Finding journals

  • Our online indexes will usually link to the electronic periodicals we have access to. If there is no link:
  • First check our Electronic Journals page for online titles subscribed to by NDSU Libraries
  • If not available electronically, check our online catalog (ODIN )for print and/or microfiche journals subscribed to by NDSU Libraries. Be sure to check location details to find out if we have the volume you want, what format it is in, and its location.
    • PERIODICALS: Current issues (2000-present) are located in the Main Library, main floor.
    • ANNEX: Older issues are available via our pull service. Fill out Pull Service Request form.
    • MICROFICHE or MICROFILM: Available in the lower level of the Main Library.
  • If we do not own the journal you need, use our InterLibrary Loan service.

Association, Company and Product information:

  • Encyclopedia of Associations (AS22E5) There is also a special guide for North Dakota called "Resource Guide to North Dakota Associations" (Reference AS28 .N6R48) Many associations now have web sites; use your favorite search engine to browse for them.
  • Thomas Register ( print version also available Reference T12T) Directory of manufactured products.
  • Check with the Reference Desk for various business directories, product directories, sources of company information, and industry standards.
  • Online yellow pages are available for free from a number of sources. Go to the library FAQ page and scroll down to the phone numbers entry.
  • Don't forget classified sections of local newspapers farm sections. Agweek classifieds as well as the the Fargo Forum classifieds are searchable online.
  • Patents. Use US Patent & trademark office database; other free patent databases are also available, such as freepatentsonline. Note: legal assistance should be used for definitive patent searches.

Agricultural Statistics and Prices

  • Our Agricultural Statistics site provides descriptions, call numbers and links to production and trade information and datasets, and commodity markets.
  • Also for current prices Agweek (PERIODICAL 630.978405 Ag98) or other local or national newspapers .

Environmental information

Laws, Legislation and Standards

Market research

Some market research is available in the library; government reports are also availabe in the library or online. For example, check the Industrial Surveys (Ref HC106.6 S74),

Government industry information is available in the Economic Census (go to the Census of Manufacturers. Industry Series Reports. Manufacturing.); crop information is available from the Situation and Outlook series produced by the USDA's Economic Research Service.

Commercially produced market reseearch reports are available, but for a price!!! You may be able to purchase a small section at a reasonable price. Try MarketResearch.Com. You may also be able to get a trial log-in for Northernlight.com. Another www.find.svp.com apparently requires a fee.

Web Browsing

  • Each search engine is different in scope, speed, power, indexing criteria and search system. If one search engine doesn't work, try another. Helpful evaluations, comparisons and guides to the various search engines are available on the web, many linked from our Understanding and Using Internet Tools site.Be careful of web sources--evaluate carefully!!!. For tips go to our Evaluating Web Resources page.
  • Try using Google's U.S. Government browser for federal and state goverment information. You can also use site:edu as part of your search querri to limit to university sites.
  • Try using Google Scholar for browing web pages with scholarly content.

 

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