World dataBank

World dataBank - Check out our featured database for March.  Economic and social indicators for over 200 countries for over 35 years.  Use this source to select and retrieve numerous datasets with rich, statistical country information.  The data sets cover a wide range of topics from agricultural statistics to women's share of population statistics.

Passport

The Bruno Library's featured database for Nov. is Passport (formerly Passport GMID -Global Market Information Database).  Here you will find research reports for various consumer, service and supply industries.  The reports include demographics, brand shares, statistics and other information on a global basis.

OneSource

is our featured database for the month of September.  With it being a subset of ReferenceUSA, many users might make this connection and already be familiar with some of it's capabilities. OneSource is an information-rich tool that can provide company profile information on US and international companies. One can find analyst's reports, company news, SWOT analyses, corporate "family-tree" orientations, balance sheet data, financials, etc., etc.

Mine, Mill & Microchip: A Chronicle of Alabama Enterprise

by Wayne Flynt.  Overlooking the fact this is written by an Auburn professor, (Please forgive me...LOL!!!)...Professor Flynt's work is a coffee-table style book with lots of illustrations (some from UA's Special Collections Library).  Copies are available from Amazon. UA Libraries has copies as well. Check out this great work and see how things have changed in AL over the years!  Enjoyable to read/thumb through!

On the Wealth of Nations: Books that Changed the World

by P.J. O'Rourke

I heard about this book on a recent episode of Marketplace.   Host, Kai Ryssdal, did an interview with the author.  The interview is worth listening to and is very insightful.  I really enjoy listening to Marketplace and especially the current series on consumption.  Check it out.

Employee Engagement: Lessons from the Mouse House

by Pete Blank.

I recently had the opportunity and privilege to attend a staff workshop here in the UA Libraries titled, "Workplace Expectations."  Going into this workshop I did not know what to anticipate.  I wasn't really enthusiastic about going.  The moderator, Pete Blank, did an exceptional job and made the whole event enjoyable.  I highly recommend his book and if you ever get the chance to attend his workshops you will not be disappointed.

Streetwise Business Tips:

200 Ways to Get Ahead in Business, Most of Which I Learned the Hard Way. By Bob Adams.

I found this little jewel of a book at the Tuscaloosa Public Library book sale.  It has some great advice in it.  Composed of short, one-page anecdotal advice snippets.  For example on pg. 10 he explains that the easiest way to profits is to cut costs.  He states that if your profit margin is 5% and you are able to cut 5% in expenses then you have doubled your profit margin.  On the other hand, if you want to double your profit margin to 10% w/o cutting costs then you would have to increase sales by 100%...a much tougher thing to do!!!

Turn the Ship Around

In the Nov. 12, 2012 issue of Fortune on pg. 44 there is a list of " must read books of the year".  One book that intrigued me is Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet. Read more about the book here.

A Nation of Deadbeats: An Uncommon History of America's Financial Disasters

I heard about this book on NPR's Marketplace during an author interview.  I found the book to be interesting and look forward to learning more about it.  I'll look for it in the Bruno Library at some point.

Do the Olympics Cost Too Much for the Host City?

This interesting debate is certainly worth discussing.  I love the Olympics and would hate to see them come to an end b/c of the cost!  I really don't think that will happen, but...

Click here to read a CNN article about the ongoing discussion.

Dan Ariely

I saw him speak at the recent American Library Assoc. Conference in Anaheim, CA.  I got a copy of his latest book, The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone---Especially Ourselves.  He's a great teacher, speaker and researcher. I highly recommend his books.

What I Learned on the Way to the Top

by Zig Ziglar.  I bought this book at the Tuscaloosa Public Library bookstore.  I'm really enjoying reading a snippet (one page per day) while my computer boots-up in my office in the AM.  These are the type of books I really enjoy. They are light reading with a positive message (this one even includes a small Bible verse on each page to help get my day started in the right way).  A great read!!!

How to Read a Financial Report

by John A. Tracy. I bought this 3rd ed. recently from the Tuscaloosa Public Library bookstore. There are later editions that have been published. I think this will be a good book to read through to get a better understanding of company financials. Bruno Library has a 1999 e-edition that can be found here or some older print versions that are in the collection with the call number: HF5681.B2 T733

Learner-Centered Teaching : ...

Putting the Research on Learning Into Practice by Terry Doyle. Forward by Todd Zakrajsek.

I discovered this book around the last part of 2011. Dr. Z (Todd Zakrajsek) was the invited speaker at a UA faculty workshop at the Bryant Conference Center. He is a psychology professor at UNC and friend of the author of the book. I'm about half-way through this book and have found it to be very helpful in the way I lead my library instruction sessions. The book, in a nutshell, is about ways to move to an audience-centered format of teaching rather than lecture-information-data-dump style of teacher speaking and students taking notes and having little participation.

So far this is a good and helpful read!

Don Noble Book Reviews

I sometimes hear these on Alabama Public Radio and was curious to learn if one could get podcasts of his book reviews. I think this is a great way to get a sense of someone's work in a quick synopsis format. I was glad to find a link on the Alabama Public Radio website and even an archive (not sure how deep) of some of the past books that he has reviewed. He reviews books from what appears to be a wide variety of topics. Here is the link for your enjoyment.

Best regards,
Paul

"Business Education: Students Struggle for Words"

"Business Schools Put More Emphasis on Writing Amid Employer Complaints" by Diana Middleton

This article from the Wall Street Journal on March 3, 2011 was a good read. Written communication is very important and doing it right is crucial. Click here to read the article.

Worthy reads from Thomas Friedman

I occasionally read Thomas Friedman and am generally impressed with what he has to say. Here's a link to his New York Times site that has his editorials listed. I would like to direct your attention to two recent ones that I read. The first one, The Start-Up of You, deals with the new realities of today's job market versus that of the past. The second one, The Clash of Generations, pertains to the state of today's worker versus that of the retiring baby boomers. Also, in this article is the assessment of America's standing in the world relative to up and coming economies like China's.

Khan Academy

Be sure to check out Sal Khan's online education project known as Khan Academy. This phenomenal collection of free, short, online video tutorials on a wide range of topics is educational, inspirational and so much more.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

Start Your Own Restaurant and More

by Entrepreneur Press and Jacquelyn Lynn. This is a book in the Bruno Library's collection that was added because of our support of the Alabama Entrepreneurial Research Network (AERN). This reference style book does a great job of covering a wide array of topics related to opening a restaurant (the most popular kind of businesses to open). Lots of practical advise is given throughout. Varying formats of eateries are covered such as pizzerias, coffeehouses, deli, bakeries, catering businesses and more.

Bruno Business Library REF TX 911.3 .M27 L9776 2009

Toastmasters International

The featured item for this post is Toastmasters International. This is a fantastic organization that serves to help those who need help with public speaking skills...and who couldn't use this???

Look for information on a local chapter. There once was one here on the UA campus. I was involved with it for a short while. If you have the time, leadership and inclination I am sure that re-establishing a chapter here at UA would be a wonderful thing to do that would pay huge intangible dividends.