Described in the preface as a business reference self-help book, Making Sense of Business Reference is a practical guide to finding business information and dealing with business reference enquiries. The book starts with an overview of business reference questions, before moving on to look at general business reference resources available. The subsequent chapters deal with different types of business information, for example, company research, industry research and investment research. In each case, the author offers advice about how to handle enquiries in each specialist area and short reviews of the main reference resources which are likely to be useful. The final section of the book consists of a series of case studies or “stumpers”, examples of tricky questions and ideas for ways to answer them.
The content of this book would be useful to librarians and other information professionals who conduct business reference enquiries as part of their role. In addition, those who teach or train others in business reference are likely to find this a valuable resource, especially the “stumpers” section. Given that this book is published by the ALA, it is no surprise to find that the majority of the resources and examples discussed relate to the US, but resources with a global coverage do also feature.
My only reservation is, perhaps this book could have been improved by adopting a more innovative publishing format. Much of the information would be well-suited to an online format, for example links to resources and databases, and the ability to search for resources and advice on particular topics would be valuable. In summary, this is a sound guide to support business reference librarians, particularly those in the US, but a companion website would help to deliver the information more effectively.
