Skills Week Orientation

Launch Week Schulich School of Business MBA Program

This Web page is designed to introduce MBA students to the York University Libraries services, including how to get a library card, how to get help with research, how to book a group study room etc. The focus is on the services available at the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library which is located in Room S237, Seymour Schulich Building.

Library Collection

The Peter F. Bronfman Business Library is the primary location for York University Libraries business collection. The subjects covered in the collection include: accounting, business ethics, finance, entrepreneurial studies, international business, management science, marketing, organizational behaviour, strategic management, plus related subject areas such as business and the environment. In addition to the circulating books and non-circulating reference materials and print periodicals and newspapers, we maintain a Reserve Collection of required course readings.

The Libraries also subscribe to a wide variety of electronic resources as well and most of these are available by remote access. The York University Libraries subscribe to over 12,000 electronic databases and journals which are selected for their quality and their relevance to teaching and research. These are not generally available on the Internet. The Schulich School of Business and the Libraries are partners in funding these subscriptions and the electronic collection is one of the finest business resources available anywhere in the GTA.

Click here for the PowerPoint Presentation given at the orientation session.

Information on how to connect from home is available on our Web site, as is a description of the business online resources.

How to get a library card and how to access library services

Your YU-Card is your library card. You may use your Passport York username and password to book a group study room, renew books online, access e-Resources from off-campus etc. You will need an AcadLab account to use the public workstations within the library and a Schulich School of Business Sirius account to use the workstations in the SSB Lab S336.

Library Web Sites

The library Web sites are the gateways to the resources and services at the five York University Libraries: Peter F. Bronfman Business Library, Frost Library (bilingual, mainly undergraduate collection located at Glendon Campus), Law Library, Scott Library (Social Sciences and Humanities), Steacie Science and Engineering Library.

The main York University Libraries Web Site provides you with information about the libraries services, resources and collections as well as links to online tutorials, the libraries catalogue, quick access to online databases and journals, etc. The Peter F. Bronfman Business Library Web site provides you with information about this branch library specifically.

Library Services

Circulation/Reserve Desk – sign out or return books and request and sign out reserve materials.

After Hours Book Drop – open only when library is closed and located in the room to the right of the library doors.

Reference/Research Services

knowledgable staff are available during most of the hours that the library is open.
send email reference questions and expect an answer within 24 hours.
IM Chat reference service
phone 416-736-5139 , Mon – Thurs 9 am to 8 pm, Fri. 9 am to 6 pm, Sat. 10 am to 6 pm, Sun. 12 to 8 pm
make an appointment with a business librarian

Group Study Rooms – book library group study rooms online but be sure to select Bronfman. You may reserve a break-out room in the Schulich Scool of Business Building by sending an email request to roomrequest@schulich.yorku.ca There is a projector available for loan for use in the Library group study rooms only. Enquire at the Circulation Desk.

The Quiet Room (no talking and cell phones allowed) is an enclosed room that you enter from the mezzanine level of the library. Groups may only work in the Group study rooms, but brief, quiet discussions may occur throughout the library. We Ask that you be considerate of others working around you. Loud, noisy behavior and cell phones are never acceptable. Please put your cell phone on vibrate and leave the library to make or take calls that involve lengthy discussions.

Online Guides – we have prepared online guides to researching companies, industries and finding articles and other topics to help those of you who are working at home. Please see our Help with Research web pages.

Public Workstations – most public workstations provide access to the Library catalogue, library electronic resources, Microsoft Office 2007 suite of products and the Internet. In order to use these workstations you need to login with your ACADLABS account. You will need to activate the FAS account and any other computing services that you wish to use.

Key Business Databases – Listed by primary use.

Company Information

Financial Post Advisor Limited to Canadian public companies but this service provides detailed information, news and corporate financial data including ratios. Search by company name and then choose from the menu of services such as historical reports (includes up-to-date information), FP Analyzer, FP Investor Reports, FP Corporate Surveys and link to FP Industry Reports (not available for every industry).

Datamonitor 360: The Datamonitor Business Information Centre (DBIC) database is divided into Industry, Country, and Company sections including 2500 market profiles, 10,000 company profiles, 1000 company SWOT analysis, more than 50 country profiles, over 150 industry rankings, and news, comments and analysis. Available on the network but restricted to the York University community.

Mergent Online Detailed information, news and corporate financial information for public companies. Canadian, American and International in scope. Search by company name and then choose from the menu of options along the top of the screen. Links to Edgar are available where relevant. Also includes industry reports covering current environment, sector performance, market trends, outlook, etc. for 20 industries.

Mergent Horizon A resource for finding company and industry information, including all companies that are actively traded on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ. It highlights the relationships between a company’s major customers, suppliers and partners and maps companies from the bottom up, based on actual products and services.

NetAdvantage – Standard & Poor;s provides comprehensive information on business and investment information, offering on-line access to popular Standard & Poor’s research products such as Industry Surveys, Stock Reports, Corporation Records, The Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, The Outlook, Mutual Fund Reports, etc.

Investext Plus Contains full-text financial reports and forecasts prepared by the world’s leading investment banks and consulting and research firms. Provides access to financial analysis for over 11,000 companies. Useful for competitive analysis, researching industry trends, conducting market research and company studies. American, Canadian and International in scope.

Sustainalytics This database rates companies on environmental, social and governance performance. For most performance issue areas, it includes aboriginal relations; community involvement; corporate governance; employee relations; environment; and human rights. The framework calls for a complete examination of each company’s performance record in that area, as well as an evaluation of each company’s record in these areas overall.

Bloomberg A real-time financial service that provides current and historical (5 years) data, news and financial analysis of companies, stocks, bonds and indices. As the ticker symbols are not always consistent with a specific stock exchange it is best to start searching by typing the name of the company and pressing the HELP key. Key economic statistics are also available. Available on a standalone workstation in the Bronfman Business Library. You can book a time to use this database in a reservation log book available at the workstation.

Sedar All companies traded on Canadian stock exchanges are required to file their public documents on Sedar. Full-text access is available for documents such as company annual reports, interim financial statements, material change reports, management discussions, and prospectuses .Free on the Internet

Edgar All companies traded on United States stock exchanges file their documents with the US Security and Exchange Commission’s Edgar database and you can search Edgar to retrieve full-text filings such as 10k reports (the most detailed annual report), 10Q, prospectuses, etc. Free on the Internet.

Industry Information

In addition to the links to industry information from company records in the databases listed above, you can select Companies by Industry from the menu on the left side of the screen in Financial Post Advisor and you will find not only the key Canadian Companies in the industries but also a databank of key industry data.

Business Monitor Online contains quarterly surveys and forecasts and news on industries by country and region.

Industry Canada This Canadian government website contains information and data on a wide variety of topics, e.g. Economic and Market Research Statistics, Company Directories, Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Start-up Assistant. Trade and Investment, and much more.

NetAdvantage Standard & Poor;s provides comprehensive information on business and investment information, offering on-line access to popular Standard & Poor’s research products such as Industry Surveys, Stock Reports, Corporation Records, The Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, The Outlook, Mutual Fund Reports, etc.

Plunkett Research provides research and trends analysis on a variety of industries, including energy, e-commerce, retailing and finance. In addition to the industry reports, it includes statistics, charts and profiles of leading companies. Primarily US information but some Canadian information is available.

Marketing Information

Global Marketing Information Database (GMID) Produced by Euromonitor, GMID provides information on countries, industries, and consumers. Demographic, economic and marketing statistics for 205 countries; historic and forecast consumer lifestyle statistics; analysis of consumer lifetsyles in 71 countries; market size for more than 300 consumer products; 4500 market research reports; profiles and rankings of 3000 leading consumer goods companies.

Datamonitor360 (formerly Business Insights and MarketLine) Provides information on the following industry sectors: Consumer goods, Healthcare, Energy, Financial Services and Technology. The market profiles include market segmentation, overview and size, competitive landscape, leading companies, forecasts, news and comment.

MarketLine Industry reports provide market overview, market value and forecasts, market segmentation, competitive landscape, and information on the leading companies in the industry.

NADBank Provides product, retail and lifestyle information based on data derived from newspaper readership surveys of Canada and major urban markets. Includes demographic breakdowns for each category. Available only in the Bronfman Business Library. (Available on a standalone workstation in the Bronfman Business Library)

Market Share Reporter Provides a very limited amount of information on Canadian market share. Unless the title of the table specifically states Canada however, assume that the information is for the United States. This reference book is available at the Reference Desk in the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library, S237 Schulich School of Business. The call number is HF 5410 M33

Economic Forecasts and Country Information

Global Insights provides country analysis, risk and forecasts for 196 countries. Political, economic, regulatory, tax, security and general business conditions are covered in the individual country reports. In addition macroeconomic forecasts are provided and country and sovereign risk ratings are included.

Business Monitor Online contains quarterly surveys and forecasts and news on industries by country and region.

Articles on Business Topics

ABI/Inform Global (ProQuest) ABI/Inform contains citations and abstracts for business and management publications, many of which are available in full-text or full-image. This resource incorporates management, industry and company-specific information of both a practical and theoretical nature. Subjects covered include: finance, public administration, marketing, management, economics, taxation, telecommunications, corporate strategies, competitive and product information. May be searched together with other ProQuest dabases.

ABI/Inform Trade and Industry (ProQuest) Designed to help researchers study and compare specific trades and industries, including telecommunications, computing, transportation, construction, petrochemicals, and many others. Includes industry magazines and newsletters. May be searched together with other ProQuest databases.

CBCA Complete (ProQuest) Provides interdisciplinary coverage of Canadian topics including the areas of business and current affairs. Offers references, and many full text articles, from Canadian journals, magazines, newspapers, and newswires. May be searched together with other ProQuest databases.

Business Source Premier (EBSCO) contains full text for periodicals and other sources, including scholarly journals, trade and general business magazines, monographs, country economic and industry reports, industry yearbooks, and market research reports.

Factiva is an excellent resource for searching newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, etc.

For a complete listing of recommended business eResources visit the Business Resources A-Z

Created by Elizabeth Watson – December 2004 Revised December 2010

Please send any comments or suggestions to Sophie Bury