It’s a quiet Friday afternoon, the first Friday of summer, and my thoughts turn to what a change from the last time I posted to this blog.  It was March and we were in the midst of surviving what was truly a brutal spring for a variety of reasons.  It is so peaceful in the library today.  The students who are taking summer classes are focused on their work and even though the library is generally quite full, there is none of the loud talking and disruptive behaviour that was the hallmark of March.  I am reminded of one of my favourite summer haiku.

Matsuo Bashō

furu ike ya / kawazu tobikomu / mizu no oto

an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water [1686]

But even in the midst of the summer doldrums we are thinking toward what changes need to be done to improve library services in the fall.

For example, we noticed that a lot more students are using Microsoft Office 2007.  Should we be offering 2007 on some of our public workstations and if so what is the right mix?  Please let us know if you are using 2007 or 2003.

Our IM Chat research service has picked up but not as well as I had hoped.  I wonder why?  Please let me know if you have heard of our IM Chat service and if you have used it what you thought of it.

We are also contemplating a mobile research service, i.e. a librarian would visit the marketplace and the downstairs study areas and be available to help with you with your research.  Do you think this is a good idea?

You will be pleased to know that we have upgraded our photocopiers and that you can now print on legal size paper at the public print workstation.

These are just a few of the things the staff in the Bronfman Business Library are contemplating.  What else should we be thinking about, in your opinion?

After a brutal period of noisy groups disrupting those of you who were trying to think, let alone study, reasonable calm has returned to the Library.

In response to vast numbers of complaints, the staff diligently roamed the Library speaking to noisy groups and if they wouldn’t respect the needs of the other students working in the Library, the staff asked them to leave.  This was a drastic step as the staff normally welcome all students to the Library but one that was unfortunately required under the circumstances.  Asking someone to leave the Library is always a last resort but one that we will continue to practice whenever we need to do so.

Hopefully we will not need to do this often but I and the staff are committed to ensuring the you have an environment in which you can learn.  We don’t have a lot of staff, so I am encouraging you to let me or the person at the public service desks know whenever there is disruptive behaviour in the Library.  This may be too much noise, inappropriate use of cell phones, an individual taking up too much space or someone who has the audio on his/her PC turned on without head phones.

And of course we ask all of you to be considerate of others.  We understand that you want to say hello to friends but you don’t need to shout to get their attention.  And please keep your voice library quiet and your conversations to a reasonably short length of time.   Also please do not block passage ways.

By the way do you know that when you are talking just outside the library entrance, your voice carries and we can hear everything you are saying.  Not to mention that you are blocking traffic.  Duff’s Cafe area has some comfortable chairs for you to sit in and chat without disturbing anyone.

One last thing, I notice that some of you are leaving your belongings unattended.  This is a very risky practice as there are thefts.  Remember that this is a public space and anyone can enter it.

Let’s all cooperate in maintaining a quiet, respectful environment.  There are lots of other places in this building where you can be noisy and let off steam.  This is a shared space and we are all responsible for ensuring that it is used appropriately.

You asked for more plugs in the Bronfman Business Library and we heard you.  Our renovations are complete.

Upstairs you will find 18 plugs installed along the length of the counter.  We also added two chairs to the Quiet Room

The Current Periodical Room has been totally renovated and there is now a counter along the wall which has seating for six students and plugs!  There are also two new tables which seat 6 students each and plugs!  This room is intended for quiet study and signs are posted asking that you speak very softly when you need to talk to someone.  It is not intended for groups working together.  Don’t forget you can book group study rooms up to two weeks in advance.

The fireplace lounge area on the window side has also been changed.  We have installed plugs along the windows and re-arranged the furniture.  Although this is a more informal area we ask that you have consideration for students working in adjacent areas and that you moderate the noise level when you are working in groups. You still need to speak softly because when you start speaking loudly, the group next to you has to start speaking loudly and so on and so on and you get the picture.  Believe me the staff hate to have to come round to speak to groups who are not being mindful of others who are sharing the same space but there are so many complaints that we will continue to do so and you may be asked to leave the library if you don’t respond to our request to speak softly.

So to sum up we have added 20 more seats and 62 more plugs.  Enjoy!

The York University Libraries add books to the collection daily so I thought I would try to make it easier for you to keep up with newly added books related to business topics by screening the new titles and only including those which relate broadly to business topics. I will compile a list of new titles at the end of each month and post them on this blog.  Please note that not all of the books are located in the Bronfman Business Library.  To check the location, please click on the title and you will see the catalogue record appear. At the bottom of the record the location and availability are indicated.

In March I identified 94 titles and I haven’t tried to sort these by subject.

I did this for two reasons. The first reason is that some of the books are multidisciplinary and do not fit neatly into categorites, e.g. accounting, marketing etc. The second reason is that I am waiting to see if anyone is looking at the monthly lists before I invest time in sorting these by narrower subjects. So if you want to have these titles sorted into subjects you need to let me know by posting a comment. Also, if you are a member of the York University community and want to receive a monthly notice when the list is published please let me know.

Congratulations to Profs Crane and Matten on the publication of their book.

Corporate social responsibility : readings and cases in a global context / edited by Andrew Crane, Dirk Matten and Laura J. Spence.

Author: Crane, Andrew, 1968- | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

A class with Drucker : the lost lessons of the world’s greatest management teacher / by William A. Cohen.

Author: Cohen, William A., 1937- | Published: New York : AMACOM/ American Management Association, c2008.

Handbook of econometrics / edited by Zvi Griliches and Michael D. Intriligator.

Author: Griliches, Zvi, 1930- | Published: Amsterdam ; New York : North-Holland Pub. Co.

Partnerships, governance and sustainable development : reflections on theory and practice / edited by Pieter Glasbergen, Frank Biermann, Arthur P.J. Mol.

Author: Glasbergen, P | Published: Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar, c2007.

Carbon finance : the financial implications of climate change / Sonia Labatt, Rodney R. White.

Author: Labatt, Sonia | Published: Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, c2007.

Exposed : the toxic chemistry of everyday products– who’s at risk and what’s at stake for American power / Mark Schapiro.

Author: Schapiro, Mark, 1955- | Published: White River Junction, Vt. : Chelsea Green Pub., c2007.

Response of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy to its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act.

Author: National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (Canada) | Published: [Ottawa] : National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, 2007.

Explorations in information space : knowledge, agents, and organization / Max H. Boisot, Ian C. MacMillan, and Kyeong Seok Han.

Author: Boisot, Max | Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Geo-business GIS in the digital organization / James B. Pick.

Author: Pick, James B | Published: Hoboken, N.J. : J. Wiley & Sons, Inc., c2008.

The Sage dictionary of qualitative management research / compiled and edited by Richard Thorpe, and Robin Holt.

Author: Thorpe, Richard, 1951- | Published: London : Sage, 2008

Global edge : using the opacity index to manage the risks of cross-border business / Joel Kurtzman, Glenn Yago.

Author: Kurtzman, Joel | Published: Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press, c2007

Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 : the complete reference / Dave Gochberg, Rob Stewart.

Author: Gochberg, Dave | Published: New York : McGraw-Hill, c2008

Small firms, global markets : competitive challenges in the new economy / edited by Jerry Haar and Jeorg Meyer-Stamer.

Author: Haar, Jerry, 1947- | Published: Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

In defense of monopoly : how market power fosters creative production / Richard B. McKenzie and Dwight R. Lee.

Author: McKenzie, Richard B | Published: Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, c2008

Unions in crisis? : the future of organized labor in America / Michael Schiavone.

Author: Schiavone, Michael | Published: Westport, Conn. : Praeger, 2008.

Fair trade coffee : the prospects and pitfalls of market-driven social justice / Gavin Fridell.

Author: Fridell, Gavin | Published: Toronto : University of Toronto Press, c2007

Greater good : how good marketing makes for better democracy / John A. Quelch, Katherine E. Jocz.

Author: Quelch, John A | Published: Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business Press, c2007.

Authenticity : what consumers really want / James H. Gilmore, B. Joseph Pine II.

Author: Gilmore, James H., 1959- | Published: Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press, c2007.

Accounting : what the numbers mean / Marshall … [et al.].

Author: Marshall, David H | Published: North Ryde, N.S.W. : McGraw-Hill Australia, c2008.

Internal auditing : an integrated approach / Richard Cascarino, Sandy van Esch.

Author: Cascarino, Richard | Published: Lansdowne, South Africa : Juta, 2007

Investigating the use of sex in media promotion and advertising / Tom Reichert, editor.

Author: Reichert, Tom | Published: Binghamton, NY : Best Business Books, c2007

National currencies and globalization : endangered specie? / Paul Bowles.

Author: Bowles, Paul | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Flying together : EU air transport policy / European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy and Transport.

Author: European Commission. Directorate-General for Energy and Transport | Published: Luxembourg : Office for Official Publication of the European Communities, 2007.

Overcoming vulnerability to rising oil prices : options for Asia and the Pacific.

Author: Regional Energy Programme for Poverty Reduction | Published: Bangkok, Thailand : UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok, c2007

Sharpening Canada’s competitive edge : a consultation paper issued by the Competition Policy Review Panel / Competition Policy Review Panel.

Author: Competition Policy Review Panel (Canada) | Published: Ottawa : Competition Policy Review Panel, [2007]

The Zimbabwe Stock Exchange handbook : two thousand and six.

Author: Zimbabwe Stock Exchange | Published: Harare : Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, [2006]

Provincial and national business cycles, 1976 to 2006 : how the provinces fared / Edward J. Chambers.

Author: Chambers, Edward J | Published: Edmonton : Western Centre for Economic Research, University of Alberta, 2007.

Multicultural marketing : an introduction / edited by G. V. S. Sreedhar.

Author: Sreedhar, G. V. S | Published: Hyderabad : ICFAI University Press c2006.

The global securities market : a history / Ranald C. Michie.

Author: Michie, R. C., 1949- | Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2006.

Organizational behavior : the ethical challenge / [edited by] Yassin Sankar ; contributions by Nancy Adler … [et al.].

Author: Sankar, Yassin | Published: Toronto : Canadian Scholars’ Press, 2004.

Optimization methods in finance / Gerard Cornuejols, Reha Teuteunceu.

Author: Cornuejols, Gerard, 1950- | Published: Cambridge, UK ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Knowledge management : social, cultural, and theoretical perspectives / edited by Ruth Rikowski.

Author: Rikowski, Ruth | Published: Oxford, England : Chandos, 2007.

Building supply chain excellence in emerging economies / edited by Hau Lee, Chung-Yee Lee.

Author: Lee, Hau Leung | Published: New York : Springer, c2007.

Perspectives on corporate social responsibility in international business / Esa Stenberg, Salla Sutinen (eds.)

Author: Stenberg, Esa | Published: [Turku, Finland] : Turku School of Economics and Business Administration ; Tampere : Esa Print , 2006.

Strategic challenges and strategic responses : the transformation of Chinese state-owned enterprises / Jifu Wang.

Author: Wang, Jifu, 1976- | Published: Oxford : Chandos, c2006.

Canadian income taxation : planning and decision making / W.J. Buckwold, Joan Kitunen.

Author: Buckwold, W. J | Published: Toronto : McGraw-Hill Ryerson, c2007.

Making cars in Canada : a brief history of the Canadian automotive industry, 1900-1980 / Richard White.

Author: White, Richard, 1952- | Published: Ottawa : Canada Science and Technology Museum, 2007.

Behind closed doors : secrecy in international financial institutions / edited by Catherine Musuva.

Author: Musuva, Catherine | Published: Cape Town, South Africa : IDASA : Global Transparency Initiative, 2006

Taxing reforms : the politics of the consumption tax in Japan, the United States, Canada and Australia / Richard Eccleston.

Author: Eccleston, Richard | Published: Cheltenham : Edward Elgar, 2007.

Strategy and entrepreneurship in Arab countries / M.S.S. El Namaki.

Author: Namaki, M. S. S., 1941- | Published: Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

Encyclopedia of business ethics and society / general editor, Robert W. Kolb.

Author: Kolb, Robert W., 1949- | Published: Thousand Oaks : Sage Publications, c2008.

Understanding financial crises / Franklin Allen, Douglas Gale.

Author: Allen, Franklin, 1956- | Published: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007.

Industrial and organizational psychology : research and practice / Paul E. Spector.

Author: Spector, Paul E | Published: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2008

Advertising media planning : a brand management approach / Larry D. Kelley and Donald W. Jugenheimer.

Author: Kelley, Larry D., 1955- | Published: Armonk, N.Y. : M.E. Sharpe, c2008.

International business geography : case studies of corporate firms / edited by Piet Pellenbarg and Egbert Wever.

Author: Pellenbarg, P. H | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Governing finance : East Asia’s adoption of international standards / Andrew Walter.

Author: Walter, Andrew, 1961- | Published: Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2008.

Governance and sustainability : new challenges for states, companies and civil society / edited by Ulrich Petschow, James Rosenau and Ernst Ulrich von Weizseacker.

Author: Petschow, Ulrich, 1952- | Published: Sheffield, UK : Greenleaf Publishing, 2005

Can Latin America compete? : confronting the challenges of globalization / edited by Jerry Haar and John Price.

Author: Haar, Jerry, 1947- | Published: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

India, China and globalization : the emerging superpowers and the future of economic development / Piya Mahtaney.

Author: Mahtaney, Piya | Published: Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

Rethinking information systems in organizations : integrating organizational problem solving / John Paul Kawalek.

Author: Kawalek, John Paul | Published: New York : Routledge, 2008.

Leadership therapy : inside the mind of Microsoft / Anna Rowley.

Author: Rowley, Anna, Ph. D | Published: New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2007

Changing organizational culture : cultural change work in progress / Mats Alvesson and Stefan Sveningsson.

Author: Alvesson, Mats, 1956- | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Corporate culture : illuminating the black hole / Jerome Want.

Author: Want, Jerome H | Published: New York : St. Martin’s Press, 2007

The power of unreasonable people : how social entrepreneurs create markets that change the world / John Elkington, Pamela Hartigan.

Author: Elkington, John | Published: Boston, Mass. : Harvard Business School Press, c2008

Managing performance improvement / Lynne F. Baxter and Alasdair M. MacLeod.

Author: Baxter, Lynne F., 1961- | Published: New York : Routledge, 2008

Global management : strategy, challenges, and uncertainties / Alejandro L. Domainguez, editor.

Author: Domainguez, Alejandro L | Published: New York : Nova Science Publishers, c2008

Knowledge networks for business growth / Andrea Back, Ellen Enkel, Georg von Krogh (editors).

Author: Back, Andrea | Published: Berlin : Springer, c2007.

Corporate governance, finance and the technological advantage of nations / Andrew Tylecote and Francesca Visintin.

Author: Tylecote, Andrew | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Large Chinese state-owned enterprises : corporatization and strategic development / Yong Zhang.

Author: Zhang, Yong, 1973- | Published: Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

The perspective of women’s entrepreneurship in the age of globalization / edited by Mirjana Radoviac Markoviac.

Author: Markoviac, Mirjana Radoviac | Published: Charlotte, NC : Information Age Pub., c2007.

The business environment : themes and issues / edited by Paul Wetherly and Dorron Otter.

Author: Wetherly, Paul | Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008.

A benchmark approach to quantitative finance / Eckhard Platen, David Heath.

Author: Platen, Eckhard | Published: Berlin ; New York : Springer, 2006.

Challenges in the management of new technologies / edited by Marianne Heorlesberger, Mohamed El-Nawawi, Tarek Khalil.

Author: Heorlesberger, Marianne | Published: New Jersey : World Scientific, c2007.

Being there even when you are not : leading through strategy, structures and systems / edited by Robert Hooijberg … [et al.].

Author: Hooijberg, Robert | Published: Amsterdam ; London : Elsevier JAI, 2007.

Mergers, acquisitions, and other restructuring activities / Donald M. DePamphilis.

Author: DePamphilis, Donald M | Published: Amsterdam; Boston : Academic, [2007], c2008.

Strategy formulation in entrepreneurial firms / by Azhdar Karami.

Author: Karami, Azhdar | Published: Aldershot, England ; Burlington, VT : Ashgate, c2007.

Dynamic capabilities between firm organization and local systems of production / edited by Riccardo Leoncini and Sandro Montresor.

Author: Leoncini, Riccardo, 1959- | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Outsourcing and human resource management : an international survey / edited by Ruth Taplin.

Author: Taplin, Ruth | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Corporate governance and corporate finance : a European perspective / edited by Ruud A. I. van Frederikslust, James S. Ang and P. Sudi Sudarsanam.

Author: Van Frederikslust, R. A. I | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Automobile politics : ecology and cultural political economy / Matthew Paterson.

Author: Paterson, Matthew, 1967- | Published: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Business ethics in focus / Laura A. Parrish, editor.

Author: Parrish, Laura A | Published: New York : Nova Science Publishers, c2007.

The green marketing manifesto / John Grant.

Author: Grant, John, 1964- | Published: Chichester, England ; Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, c2007.

Analysis for marketing planning / Donald R. Lehmann, Russell S. Winer.

Author: Lehmann, Donald R | Published: Boston : McGraw-Hill Irwin, c2008.

Product development : a structured approach to consumer product development, design, and manufacture / Anil Mital … [et al.].

Author: Mital, Anil | Published: Amster dam ; Boston, MA : Butterworth-Heinemann, An imprint of Elsevier, c2008

Private label : turning the retail brand threat into your biggest opportunity / Keith Lincoln & Lars Thomassen.

Author: Lincoln, Keith | Published: London ; Philadelphia : Kogan Page, 2008.

The economics of global environmental change : international cooperation for sustainability / edited by Mario Cogoy and Karl W. Steininger.

Author: Steininger, Karl W | Published: Cheltenham, UK ; Northampton, MA : Edward Elgar, 2006.

Agent systems in electronic business / Eldon Y. Li, Soe-Tsyr Yuan [editors].

Author: Li, Eldon Yu-zen, 1952- | Published: Hershey, PA : Information Science Reference, c2008

Strategy and human resource management / Peter Boxall and John Purcell.

Author: Boxall, Peter F | Published: Basingstoke [England] ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

Human resource management : linking strategy to practice / Greg L. Stewart, Kenneth G. Brown.

Author: Stewart, Greg L | Published: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, c2009.

Bits, bytes, and balance sheets : the new economic rules of engagement in a wireless world / by Walter B. Wriston.

Author: Wriston, Walter B | Published: Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University, c2007.

Auditing, trust and governance : regulation in Europe / edited by Reiner Quick, Stuart Turley and Marlene Willekens on behalf of European Auditing Research Network.

Author: Quick, Reiner | Published: London ; New York : Routledge, 2008.

Globalisation in China, India, and Russia : emergence of national groups and global strategies of firms / editors, Jean-Fran?cois Huchet, Xavier Richet, Joeel Ruet.

Author: Huchet, Jean-Fran?cois | Published: New Delhi : Academic Foundation, 2007.

International accounting / Frederick D.S. Choi, Gary K. Meek.

Author: Choi, Frederick D. S., 1942- | Published: Upper Saddle River, N.J. : Pearson Prentice Hall, c2008.

The language of success : business writing that informs, persuades, and gets results / Tom Sant.

Author: Sant, Tom | Published: New York : AMACOM, c2008.

Operational excellence : using lean six sigma to translate customer value through global supply chains / James William Martin.

Author: Martin, James W. (James William), 1952- | Published: New York : Auerbach Publications, c2008

Strategies for business and technical writing / Kevin J. Harty.

Author: Harty, Kevin J | Published: New York : Pearson Longman, c2008.

High frequency financial econometrics : recent developments / Luc Bauwens, Winfried Pohlmeier, David Veredas (eds.).

Author: Bauwens, Luc, 1952- | Published: New York : Springer, c20087

Knock ‘em dead 2008 : the ultimate job seeker’s guide / Martin Yate.

Author: Yate, Martin John | Published: Avon, Mass. : Adams Media, c2007, [2008].

My secret life on the McJob : lessons from behind the counter guaranteed to supersize any management style / Jerry M. Newman.

Author: Newman, Jerry M | Published: New York : McGraw-Hill, c2007.

Wisdom of Indian business leadership : a compilation of valuable thoughts with notes of wisdom and analysis to face 21st century challenges / compiled, edited and analysed by Bimal R. Bhatt ; [foreword by G. Narayana.

Author: Bhatt, Bimal R | Published: Mumbai : English Edition Publishers & Distributors (India) Pvt. Ltd, 2005.

Corporate governance : from compliance obligation to business imperative.

Author: Institutional Shareholder Services | Published: Rockville, Md. : Institutional Shareholder Services, 2006.

Transformation in cultural industries / edited by Candace Jones, Patricia H. Thornton.

Author: Jones, Candace | Published: Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier JAI, c2005.

Management of organisational stress : understanding harmony between individuals and the environment / Uma Gulati.

Author: Gulati, Uma | Published: New Delhi, India : New Century Publ., 2005

Baby boomers, Generation X and social cycles / Edward Cheung.

Author: Cheung, Edward, 1963- | Published: Toronto : Longwave Press, 2007

Well it’s almost the end of term and the mood in the library has shifted. It does this every year so it comes as no surprise to me. Deadlines are looming and students nerves are getting edgier. Noise that would have been tolerated a few weeks ago, has become a call to arms. I am getting complaints about not only the volume of noise in the library but the lack of respect one encounters. Groups are circling looking for a place to study. The competition for group study rooms has escalated. Students are draped about the library and the occasional one has even nodded off although how they can sleep with so many other students passing by is a mystery to me. I guess the answer is exhaustion.

The library staff have the decidedly unpleasant duty of trying to maintain an environment in which students can work together as well as to maintain an environment where those seeking a quiet place to work/study, may do so. The reason I describe this as “decidedly unpleasant” is because we really are not nags and take no pleasure in power games. We do however, feel strongly that there is a time and place for certain behaviour and March is a time to respect the needs of students to have a quiet place to work. The Seymour Schulich building offers a wide variety of places to socialize and relax but few where one can find a relatively quiet haven.

We ask that you participate in ensuring that the noise level is low by whispering when in groups and confining your social conversations to a minimum. Also please respect that there are students looking for spaces to work and don’t take up prime real estate (i.e. chairs and passageways) by littering your possessions about. For example, place your jacket on back of the chair you are occupying and your materials on the floor.

The staff and I wish you success in completing this academic year and if you are graduating our wish for you is that you get the job you desire and a salary that makes all your efforts worthwhile.

It’s just a little while longer, hang in there and when you feel like you are losing it, remember to take a few deep breaths to relax yourself and relieve the tension.

And don’t forget if you need help with your research, you can stop by the reference desk, you can phone us 416-736-5139, you can email us at bgref@yorku.ca (24 hr turn around), or you can chat with us.