International Business Information on the Web: Searcher Magazine’s Guide to Sites and Strategies for Global Business Research

Citation

Chawner, B. (2003), "International Business Information on the Web: Searcher Magazine’s Guide to Sites and Strategies for Global Business Research", Online Information Review, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 63-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520310471176a

These two very different books are each intended to help business information specialists locate and use business information sources covering countries other than the USA. The first, International Business Information on the Web: Searcher Magazine’s Guide to Sites and Strategies for Global Business Research, is based on a series of seven articles titled “Around the world in 80 sites” in Searcher between February 1999 and February 2000. These have been transformed into nine geographical chapters: International business research, The world, Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, The Middle East and North Africa, Sub‐Saharan Africa, Mexico and Canada, Asia and the Pacific, and a brief conclusion. While some of the text is identical to the original articles, a considerable amount has been extensively revised and expanded, particularly the section on international business research.

Each chapter begins with a section on general resources on the region, such as directories, search engines, news resources, chambers of commerce, and stock exchanges, followed by country‐specific resources. The main emphasis is on free sites, but Lanza also describes key fee‐based services such as Dun & Bradstreet. As one would expect, coverage is uneven, with some countries, such as Canada, Mexico, and Western European countries covered more thoroughly than those from the rest of the world. Lanza has included many practical tips based on her own experience in searching for global business and industry information. The general impression the book conveys is “here are the sites I find useful”, but it makes no attempt to be comprehensive in its coverage. For example, Lanza has included the Web sites for the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (the local equivalent of US Federal Reserve Bank), but only one of the country’s major trading banks. In the introduction Lanza says that countries were included for a variety of reasons, including: their potential interest to those seeking business information; the availability of relevant information sources, and something about the country that piqued her interest.

The URLs for over 1,000 Web sites mentioned in the book (arranged by chapter and sub‐arranged by category such as search engines, stock exchanges, chambers of commerce) are listed in an appendix, and there is a Web site for the book <http://www.infotoday.com/ibidirectory.htm> which has links to these. Unfortunately, these do not appear to be kept up‐to‐date – the first link I tested resulted in the dreaded 404 page not found message. Other appendices list the country codes for top level domains, and the ISO 3166 two‐letter country abbreviations. There is an index.

Super Searchers Cover the World: The Online Secrets of Global Business Researchers is the eighth volume in Information Today’s Super Searchers series, and it follows the same format as earlier titles. Bates interviewed 20 experienced business information specialists about their use of global information sources and presents the results in 15 chapters. The interviewees include academic librarians (one is Ruth Pagell, co‐author with Michael Halperin of International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It. Oryx Press, 1998), industry experts (food and investment banking), and people specialising in specific regions (for example Mexico, Asia and Italy). Each was asked to describe his or her backgound, typical projects, favourite sources, how international business sources are changing, and the biggest challenges. The results are presented in a conversational style that is easy to read, and each chapter can be read independently.

An appendix lists all the sources mentioned in the text, with brief annotations, and, as for the previous title, these are also listed on a Website <http://www.infotoday.com/supersearchers/sscw.htm>. Key points from each interview are highlighted at the end of each chapter as “super searcher power tips”, and there is an index. In the introduction Bates makes a number of key points drawn from the interviews. Though perhaps not a surprise to those of us who work outside the USA, it is reassuring to learn that others also find it relatively easy to find US sources of business and industry information, but have much more difficulty in locating recent, relevant, and online sources of local information for other countries and regions. Another issue relates to the consistency of information gathered from a range of sources – local variations in gathering statistical information can make it difficult to make meaningful comparisons across countries or regions.

While neither of these titles has the depth of coverage in Pagell and Halperin’s International Business Information: How to Find It, How to Use It, both are a useful complementary resource, particularly for Web‐based sources. International Business Information on the Web covers a wider range of sources and will be most useful for people looking for a starting point for a particular country or region. Super Searchers Cover the World provides an overview of different approaches to finding global business information, rather than for specific sources. Both are recommended for business information collections and for business information specialists looking for something to extend their knowledge of international sources. This is a joint review with Super Searchers Cover the World: The Online Secrets of Global Business Researchers.