By Michael Phelan
In providing reference services at the Calgary office of
the Canada Revenue Agency, our Research & Library Services team
encounters questions on a wide variety of topics including case law,
legislation, securities, and background company and industry
information. Here are a few websites that I use on regular
basis:
- Zimmerman’s Research Guide: http://www.lexisnexis.com/infopro/zimmerman/.
An online encyclopaedia for legal researchers, this free resource
provides brief explanations of topics and well-annotated lists of
sources for information. This site has helped me make sense of
topics such as CUSIP numbers, Fannie Mae, LIBOR rates, OTC stock,
commodity prices and insurance ratings.
- BERA Issue 5/6 – The Oil and Gas Industry: http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/BERA/issue5/issue5_main.html.
This guide is an issue of the Business and Economics Research Advisor
produced by specialists in Business Reference Services at the Library
of Congress. It provides an overview of industry issues such as
production, refining, marketing, statistical sources and company
research. Within each section are lists of recommended resources
for further information.
- Energy Information Administration: http://www.eia.doe.gov/.
The Energy Information Administration is the statistical agency of the
U.S. Department of Energy. This well-organized site provides
current and historical pricing information for various spot prices of
crude oil and natural gas. There are in-depth country analysis
briefs and supply and demand forecasts.
- Library, Information Science and Technology
Abstracts: http://www.libraryresearch.com.
EBSCO recently began providing free access to this bibliographic
database that indexes over 600 journals.
In terms of non-work related sites I have been spending
a lot of time on http://www.metacritic.com
lately. This site is similar to the movie review site http://www.rottentomatoes.com
but it is also covers music, television and books. The website
compiles an average score for a CD, movie or television program based
on online and print reviews and provides links to the full-text reviews
when available.
Michael Phelan is a
Reference & Systems Librarian for the Canada Revenue Agency.
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