UC COLLEGE OF BUSINESS (Library Collections Policy)

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAM

Subjects covered.  The College of Business Administration is a comprehensive business college with focus on the following areas: accounting, business law, construction management, controllership, entrepreneurship, family business/entrepreneurship, finance, financial analysis, human resources, industrial management, information systems, insurance, international business, logistics, management, marketing, operations management, product information and supply management, quantitative analysis, real estate and taxation.

Departments and users served.  Accounting/Information Systems, Finance, Management, Marketing, and Quantitative Analysis/Operations Management.

The collections of management, finance, accounting and computer science, receive heavy use from academic institutions with large business student populations in the 7 county area.  Local corporations and entrepreneurs also use the collection. The collection receives substantial use from other administrative offices and academic colleges and departments on campus such as Engineering, DAAP, Evening College, A&S, and east campus departments and colleges.

Quantitative information.  The College has 75 full-time and 15 part-time faculty members, 2100 undergraduates, 400 master and 40 doctoral students.   There are 350 students in the University of Cincinnati Executive Program.

Degrees granted. 

Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management

Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) with One Focus area and One Integral Area:
 Focus:  accounting, finance, information systems, marketing, operations management.
Integral: Accounting, entrepreneurship/family business, international business, management, PRISM (Product information and supply management), real estate, treasury management.

M.B.A.
With up to two areas of concentration from the following:  finance, marketing, management, international business, information systems, operations management, quantitative analysis, commercial real estate, construction management, management of advanced technology & innovation, finance, information systems, international business, management, operations management, marketing, quantitative analysis, and technology and innovation.

M.S. degree programs
Accounting, informatin systems, mzarketing, quantitative analysis, taxation

Ph.D.

Areas of concentration: accounting, finance, information systems, management, marketing, operations management, and quantitative analysis.

Special programs and accreditation requirements.

Certificate for Business Administration. For students outside CBA, a business certificate with a concentration is offered with an additional 15 hours of focus or integral concentration study.

Honors-Plus program. The program's goal is to graduate successful business professionals with the potential to become future business leaders.

Global Programs. Several programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including overseas programs.

Research focus, grants, special funding.

The College of Business Administration is a comprehensive college offering programs in all major areas of business activity.

The University of Cincinnati Executive Program (UCEP) is designed especially for mid- and upper-level managers. This 20-week certificate program meets one day per week. UCEP is in its 20th year and currently has over 350 graduates. The program provides knowledge and analytical skills for the business and management problems.

The Goering Center for Family-Owned and Private Business, one of the country's leading university-based family business centers, publishes an acclaimed Family Business Newsletter for 2,000 subscribers. It sponsors The Family Business Forum (a seminar program), which brings in nationally recognized speakers to address the concerns of family business owners. In 1992, the Center financed four research proposals, one of the few places in the nation to provide research funds in this area.

Other centers include: Real Estate Center, Center for Productivity Improvement, UC Entrepreneurship Center, and Total Quality Management Center.
 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS COLLECTION

Location of collection.  The physical business collection is housed in the Langsam Library.  Approximately 90% of the current periodical collection is available electronically through major databases or as electronic journals.  Lesser used parts of the collection are available in a storage facility (SWORD).

Other collections supporting program.

Internal: The psychology collection is of primary interest to marketing and management.  General social science methodology collections are also of considerable value.  The engineering and mathematics collections are of major interest to the QAOM Department. Other collections of importance are law, and health sciences.

External:  The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is a source of information complementing our collections.  Business resources from government agencies and private research organizations on the Internet are utilized in most data collection activities.

General level of collecting.  Prior to 1981 support to the collection was provided at level 1 (minimal) and level 2 (basic).  Since 1981 all areas of the collection are being supported at level 3 (instructional) and level 4 (research).
 

SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF COLLECTION

Call numbers.   HA, HB, HC, HD, HF, HG, HJ, and portions of the following call number ranges:  K, Q, QA, RA, S, T, TA, TS and Z.

Current and retrospective collecting.  The business collection purchases almost exclusively current materials.  Little retrospective collecting is done, except in the area of electronic journal back runs for titles frequently requested through document delivery or titles in new areas.  When funding permits, retrospective collecting is done to support new or weak areas. Further, care is taken to remove out-dated materials that do not represent current standards and methods.  Key classic works are preserved.

Time period collected.  Current

Levels of treatment.  Library collecting is directed toward support of the College's instructional and research programs at all levels.  Works collected reflect the college's dependency on theory and practice.  Selectivity is exercised in purchasing textbooks.  Excluded are:  practitioners manuals, software manuals, trade technical literature, and how-to materials.

Languages.  The language of the collection is predominantly English.  Some statistical sources are collected in the language of origin. Lately many of our U.S. based online databases, such as Factiva, have added foreign language materials to their collections.

Geographical areas.  Emphasis is placed on the U.S. and its trading partners.  Areas of the curriculum such as international finance, transnational accounting, international marketing, management of multinationals, and operations management rely on non-U.S. based publishers.

Special aspects.  A great degree of selectivity is exercised in purchasing popular materials.   "How to" books are not bought unless they represent a research oriented technique.  Budget limitations require the purchase of only major industry and business oriented periodicals unless they are part of a full-text database.  Financial newsletters and marketing research reports are not purchased except through market research databases.

Types of resources.  Serial publications and reference sources in all formats are most important for business. Government reports and statistical data sources are essential for business research.  Other sources of importance are: financial services, legal and tax services, company and industry research reports, corporate reports, proceedings of professional organizations, working papers of research organizations, journals and financial newspapers, government reports, statistical periodicals, and various monographic publications.  Dissertations are purchased as funds allow.

Resource formats.  Most business materials are in book, periodical, cd-rom, or Internet formats.  Films and videos are made available through the library's Multimedia Services Department.
 

ACQUISITION PROCESSES

Approval plans.  A large number of monographs are acquired through approval plans.  Several hundred business publishers are included and books are shipped to us, upon publication, based on a subject and format profile.

Direct ordering.  Non-approval material is ordered, by the business librarian, through the Acquisitions Department. Faculty and student participation in this process is very important, and they are encouraged to do so.

Standing orders.  Standing orders for print and electronic formats are placed for monographic series, society publications, periodicals, databases, and other serials.

Unique sources.  In addition to cataloged company histories, a collection of uncataloged corporate histories containing mostly pamphlets is available in the Reference Department of Langsam Library.  Other unique resources online are: Investext Plus, containing Wall Street Research Reports; CRSP, containing securities data; Research Insight, containing historical stock data; and Global Insight, containing historical economic data.
 

Wahib Nasrallah
February 2001