Library Guide for Business and Office Skills
Contents

INTRODUCTION
DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC?
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BOOKS ON YOUR TOPIC?
USE THE CATALOGUE
BROWSE THE LIBRARY SHELVES
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES ON YOUR TOPIC?
BROWSING JOURNALS
USING DATABASES
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET?
INTRODUCING WEBLINKS

 
INTRODUCTION

This guide is intended to provide assistance with locating information in the area of Business & Office Skills. It is not a complete guide to sources of information and students are advised to consult with library staff for assistance if required.

 
DO YOU UNDERSTAND YOUR TOPIC?

Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are a good starting point for research. They give definitions and provide background material that will assist you in understanding your topic.

Some useful reference books are:

Australian business dictionary
CCH Macquarie dictionary of business
Macquarie office manual
Macmillan dictionary of marketing and advertising
Oxford dictionary for the business world

Check the Library catalogue to see if a particular reference book is held in your campus library.

 
ARE YOU LOOKING FOR BOOKS ON YOUR TOPIC?

Books provide detailed information on a subject. You can locate them by using the Library catalogue or browsing the shelves.

 
USING THE CATALOGUE

To locate material (including books, magazines and videos) use the terms from your topic in a general keyword search of the Library catalogue. For a more structured approach use the following headings for a subject search of the Library catalogue.

Management
Marketing
Office management
Office procedures
Personnel management
Real estate business

BROWSE THE LIBRARY SHELVES

By browsing the library shelves you can get an idea of what the library has in your area. Dewey numbers that you may find useful in the Business and Office Skills area are:

You may also find useful information in an E-book (electronic book). These can be accessed any where and at any time. A number of E-books are available in a range of subject areas.

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR JOURNAL ARTICLES ON YOUR TOPIC?

Journals are also known as magazines, serials and periodicals.

Journals provide up to date information and cover recent developments in that subject area. For some areas they are the best source of information.

To locate journal articles you can browse (look through whole issues), or search for journal articles in databases.

 
BROWSING JOURNALS

Some journals that may be useful in the Business and Office Skills area are:

Check the catalogue or with Library staff to see if these or other journals are held in your Campus Library.

USING DATABASES

Databases are electronic indexes to journals and other resources. Some databases offer the full text of the article whilst others will provide only information about articles.

Electronic databases that may be useful:

Business Source Premier
Australian & NZ Reference Centre
Australian Public Affairs Full Text
Electric Library Australasia
Infotrac OneFile

Information on accessing databases is available from campus libraries or vis the Databases page..

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET?

INTRODUCING WEBLINKS

The Internet provides access to a vast amount of information. Websites providing this information range from reliable and authoritative to less reputable sites. Weblinks is a collection of websites, covering a range of topics, selected by North Coast Institute library staff for their relevancy and reliability.

Some Weblinks topics that you may find useful are:

Communication
Management
Real estate
Retail
Teams

Or you can select from the Weblinks for Business and Office Skills.

For further assistance in locating information, or using some of the sources listed in this guide, take a look at Searchpath, an online research tutorial, or contact library staff.