Government Publications Review, Vol. 11, pp. 293-301, 1984 0211-9390/84 $3.00 + .oO Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright e 1984 Pergamon Press Ltd

BUSINESS INFORMATION SOURCES: A COMPARISON OF THE MONTHLY CATALOG AND BOOKS IN PRINT

WILLIAM FISHER Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Library & Information Science, University of California,

Los Angeles, CA 90024

ELLEN GERRY Documents Librarian, California State University, Dominguez Hills, Carson, CA 90747

Abstract-The viability of the Government Printing Office as a source of business information was tested by comparing the availability of material on two business- related topics from online searches of the Monthly Catalog and Books in Print. The GPO compared favorably for the topics “trade with China” and “industrial safety” in the areas of number of titles available, price of the items, and currency of the in- formation.

INTRODUCTION

Businesses need information to grow. Information for improved product development, in- creased productivity, and more efficient marketing techniques has been a priority for many companies over the years. A recent article in the Wail Street Journal cites a number of major businesses that have either established their own corporate libraries or increased and up- graded existing library facilities to make information more available [l]. In a study funded by the National Science Foundation, Hayes and Erickson found that the industries that in- vested more heavily in information were more financially stable during the economic un- certainties of the recent inflationary and recessionary period [2].

This need for information is felt not only by major companies, but also by individual business people trying to remain commercially viable in an increasingly competitive market- place, and of course, by business students preparing themselves for careers in the corporate world or as independent business men and women. The demand for business information ex- ists, and librarians in public and academic, as well as special libraries, will be confronted with the task of acquiring the material necessary to meet this demand.

In this study, business information is defined as monographic type material providing in- formation on all aspects of business in either text or statistical form or a combination of both. Not included are works of a theoretical nature such as a text on economic theory.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

This demand for business information presents a difficult problem for libraries needing to acquire material to meet this demand. First, over the past ten years, the number of publishers

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294 FISHER and GERRY

producing business information has doubled, and as one might expect, the number of business publications available has also increased [3]. To complicate matters, these new business titles also carry higher price tags. The average cost of a business book, in either hardcover or trade paperback format, has gradually increased over the last five years, from $18.00 in 1977 to $25.19 in 1982 (hardback) and from $7.09 to $12.75 (trade paperback). These figures are comparable to the increase in price for all books as hardcover material rose from $19.22 in 1977 to $30.59 in 1982, and trade paperbacks rose from $5.93 in 1977 to $11.68 in 1982 [4]. Another factor to be considered is the currency of the information ac- quired. The currency of business information is very important; a recent article by Hodo- wanec shows that business material had the highest rate of obsolescence among all the sub- ject areas studied [5]. In many instances, the material is outdated by the time it is acquired because there is too great a time gap between when the material was written and when it was published. It appears that libraries may be spending more and more for business material that is less and less useful. Relying upon commercial publishers as the sole source of business material is becoming expensive and perhaps unrealistic. One is lead to the inevitable ques- tion: Is there an alternative source for acquiring business information?

At the federal government level in the United States, several agencies have been identified as the primary resources and producers of information for promoting, developing, and assisting economic growth in the United States. The Department of Agriculture serves a vari- ety of constituencies. Agriculture, forestry, rural community development, and consumer affairs are among the responsibilities which the Department oversees. “It works to improve

and maintain farm income and to develop and expand markets abroad for agricultural prod- ucts. . . . Rural development credit, and conservation programs are key resources for car- rying out national growth policies” [6]. The Department of Commerce has as its primary focus the development and promotion of “the Nation’s international trade, economic growth, and technological advancement. Within this framework and together with a policy of pro- moting the national interest through the encouragement of the competitive, free enterprise system, the Department offers a wide variety of programs” [7]. Virtually all of these pro- grams produce information of interest to every business person, from the small businessman to the chief executive officer of a large multinational corporation.

Other cabinet level departments that are charged with a significant responsibility for the country’s economic and business well-being include the Treasury Department, which formu- lates the financial, tax, and fiscal policies of the country, the State Department, which over- sees the foreign economic policy of the country, and the Labor Department, which promotes the welfare of all wage earners in the U.S. Also at the executive level the office of Manage- ment and Budget is concerned with how the federal budget is spent. OMB also regulates how private firms conduct business with the federal government.

In addition to these federal departments, there are also a number of independent agencies with a primary focus on business. These include the Small Business Administration, the Se- curities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the International Trade Commission, and the U.S. International Development Cooperation Agency.

Publications from these various agencies have fluctuated in number over the past several years. More recently, the publishing output of these and other agencies through the U.S. Government Printing Office has been curtailed by the implementation of the Paperwork Re- duction Act of 1980.

While the publishing output of the GPO has been cut back, much of what is being pub- lished does provide information of interest to the business community. On the surface, government publications would appear to have a number of advantages compared with the commercial publications discussed above. First, the price of GPO publications is less than

Business information sources

Table 1. Search strategy statements for online searching

295

1 ss business or industr? or commerc?

2 ss py= 1980

3 ss py= 1981 4 ss py= 1982

The results of statement one were combined with statements two, three, and four to get the numbers presented

in Table II. 5 c sl and (China or People’s(w) Republic(w) China)

6 ss trade and (China or People’s(w) Republic(w) China)

I c s5 or s6

8 ss industrial(w) safety

The results of statement seven and eight were combined with statements two, three, and four to get the actual

data used in the study.

commercial publications; indeed, many government publications are still available for free. Second, since the federal government collects much of the data it publishes, ‘there should be a shorter time lag between the date the material in the publication was acquired and the date the publication was issued. Because the GPO is not publishing to be commercially competi- tive, the quality of paper and soft-cover binding that are used help keep production time, as publication cost, to a minimum. Finally, in some areas of business the GPO produces as great of a variety of publications as commercial publishers do. This leads to a redefining of the original question: Is the GPO an alternative to commercial publishers in acquiring business information?

THE STUDY

In an effort to answer this question, a study was made to compare the publishing output of business information by the federal government with the output from commercial publish- ers. Data was generated from online searches of the Monthly Catalog of United States Gov- ernment Publications database (file 66 on Dialog) and the Books in Print data base (file 470 on Dialog). The general terms, “business,” truncated “commerc” to pick up commerce and commercial, and truncated “industr” to pick up industrial, industry, and industries (see Table l), were searched over a 3-year period (1980-1982) to determine how much informa- tion was available (see Table 2). As these numbers were much too large with which to deal, searches were conducted on two more specific topics in order to produce a workable sample. One topic, the development of U.S. trade with the People’s Republic of China, had a de- cidedly international focus, while the second topic, industrial safety in the United States, had a distinct domestic focus. Table 2 does illustrate, however, that enforcement of President Reagan’s information policy has had major implications for the public’s right to access gov- ernment-produced information. Proponents of this policy see private enterprise as providing information services at a savings to the government, although at the expense of the con-

Table 2. Total business publications

Publication year GPO BIP

1980 1811 2878 1981 1241 2987 1982 1036 3646

296 FISHER and GERRY

sumer. This is seen in the gradual reduction in number of federal publications over the past few years (down 43% from 1980 to 1982), while the number of commercial publications has been on the increase (up 27% from 1980 to 1982).

As the lists of citations on the two sample topics were generated (see Table 3), each was carefully checked to eliminate duplicate titles and those not currently available (out-of-print or out-of-stock). In addition, the Books in Print lists were edited to remove any non-U.S. publications and, as was the case with industrial safety, works by U.S. publishers that dealt with industrial safety in other countries. The GPO lists were also edited to exclude audio- visual, microfiche, and serial publications. Since BZP only provides data on non-serial paper formats, these other formats were excluded so that a more equitable comparison could be made. In this way, only monographic type publications for a 3-year period would be com- pared. It should be noted that the exclusion of non-paper formats, especially microfiche, had a negative impact on the data gathered about federal publications as the federal government has increased its micropublishing efforts over the past few years. Also the exclusion of government serials limited the material considered in this study. For example, the Code of Federal Regulations, which contains information about federal regulations for industrial safety, was not considered because it is a serial.

Table 3. A select list of titles obtained from Dialog searches

Books in Print (File 470) Trade with China

Azif, Herbert B. China Trade: A Guide to Doing Business with the People’s Republic of China, 1981.

Burrill, Harry and Raymond F. Crist. Report on Trade Conditions in China, 1980.

Buxbaum, David C., Cassondra E. Joseph, and Paul D. Reynolds, eds. China Trade: Prospects and Perspectives, 1982.

China Business Manual: Supplement, 1982, 1982.

Doing Business in Today’s China, 198 1.

Factors Which Hinder or Help Productivity Improvement Country Report- The Republic of China, 1980.

Li, Lillian Ming-Tse. China’s Silk Trade: A Traditional Industry and the International Market, 1842-1937, 198 1.

Lorence, James J. Organized Business and the Myth of the China Market: The American Asiatic Association, 1898-1937, 1981.

Perry, Phillip M. China Business Directory, 1980. Tung, Rosalie L. U.S.-China Trade Negotiations, 1982. U.S.-China Trade Statistics: 1981, 1982.

Wright, Stanley. Kiangsi Native Trade and Its Taxation, 1980.

Monthly Catalog (File 66) Trade with China

Agreement on Trade Relations Between the United States and the People’s Republic of China: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on International Trade of the Committee on Finance, United States Senate, Ninety-sixth Congress, First Session, on S. Con. Res. 47. . November IS, 1979, 1980.

Doing Business with China, 1980. Electric Power for China’s Modernization: The Hydroelectric Option: A Research Paper, 1980.

Joint Venture Agreements in the People’s Republic of China, 1982. Trade and Employment Effects of Granting Most-Favored-Nation Status to the People’s Republic of China, 1980.

Trade in Textiles and Textile Products: Agreement Between the United States of America and the People’s Republic, of China, Signed’at Washington September 17, 1980, 1981.

Trade Relations: Agreement Between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, Signed at

Beijing July 7, 1979, 1980. Trade: Visa System for Textile Exports: Agreement Between the United States of America and the People’s Re-

public of China, Effected by Exchange of Letters Signed at Beijing July 23 and 25, 1980, 1981.

U.S.-China Agricultural Trade, 1981. U.S.-China Commercial Relations: A Compilation of Basic Documents, 1982.

Business information sources 297

Table 3. (continued)

Books in Print (File 470) Industrial Safety

Alberti, P.W., ed. Personal Hearing Protection in Industry, 1982. Blockley, D.I. Nature of Structure-Design and Safety, 1980. De Reamer, Russell. Modern Safety and Health Technology, 1980. Hammar, Willie. Occupational Safety Management and Engineering, 1981. Ives, Jane H. International Occupational Safety and Health Resource Catalogue, 1981. Levy, Barry S. and David H. Wegman, eds. Occupational Health: Recognizing and Preventing Work-Related

Diseases, 1982. Malasky, Sol. Systems Safety: Technology and Application, 1981. National Directory of Safety Consultants, 1980. OSHA Standards for the Construction Industry, 1981. Ring, Leonard and Doug Clarke, eds. Facts on Backs, 198 1. Sharninghouse, Jane, ed. OSHA for Machine Tools, 1980. Tarrants, William E. and Allan C. Guy, Jr., eds. Dictionary of Terms Used in the Safety Profession, 1980.

Monthly Catalog (File 66) Industrial Safety

Construction Industry Standards and Interpretations, 1980. Development and Validation of Methods for Sampling and Analysis of Workplace Toxic Substances, 1980. General Industry Standards and Interpretations, 198 1. Health Hazard Alert: benzidine-, o-tolidine-, and o-dianisidine-based dyes, 1980. List of Audiovisual Materials Produced by the United States Government for Industrial Safety, 1982. Occupational Injuries and Illnesses in 1979: Summary, 1981. Occupational Safety and Health, 1981. Resource Guide to Worker Education Materials in Occupational Safety and Health, 1982. Standards for Psychological Assessment of Nuclear Facility Personnel, 198 1. Survey of Safety Levels in Federal Regulation, 1981. Work Practices Guide for Manual Lifting, 198 1. Workshop on Frameworks for Developing a Safety Goal: Held at Palo Alto, California, April I-3, 1981, 1981.

As the results of the searches and editing process show (see Table 4), when the searches were limited to specific topics (“trade with China” and “industrial safety”) more manageable numbers were produced. The figures given represent the number of usable titles on each topic. While Table 2 shows commercial publishers outproducing the GPO by a more than 2-to-1 margin, the figures presented in Table 4 are far more favorable to the GPO. The GPO produced more usable documents on trade with China than commercial publishers and fell only 27% short of commercial production in the area of industrial safety.

The average price is given for all commercial books in the sample and for those documents that had prices available. As was expected, the documents proved to be much less expensive than the commercial publications. For the “trade with China” titles, the Books in Print material ranged in price from $6.50 to $55.00, with an average price of $24.15 per title, while

Table 4. Comparison of GPO and BIP

Trade with China

GPO BIP

Number of Titles

24

21

Time Lag Average Price (in months)

$ 3.47 10 $24.15 16

Industrial Safety GPO BIP

43 $10.18 10 59 $34.97 14

298 FISHER and GERRY

the GPO material ranged from $1.00 to $7.50, averaging $3.47 per title. For the “industrial safety” titles, the commercial publications ranged in price from $2.95 to $108.00, with an average cost of $34.97. The GPO material ranged from $2.00 to $60.00, with an average price of $10.18.

Time lag was determined for those titles readily available for a physical examination. Age of the material was determined by dates given in the preface, introductory remarks, or in references and citations. The time lag between the date taken from the contents of the work and the date of publication was then computed in months and an average time determined. Again, as expected, the GPO had a shorter time lag, however, in both cases it was not dramatically lower. It should be noted that both sets of figures are based upon inspection of relatively few items due to the unavailability of titles when the search was made. For the Books in Print material, only nine “trade with China” and nineteen “industrial safety” titles were actually found. Sixteen “trade with China” and twenty-eight “industrial safety” docu- ments were retrieved for inspection.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The question posed earlier was whether the GPO could be considered as an alternative to commercial publishers in acquiring business information. From the evidence presented from an online search of two business-related topics, the answer would have to be yes. In searching the topic “trade with China,” the GPO actually produced more titles that commercial pub- lishers in a 3-year time span, the average cost of the GPO material was $20.68 less per title, and the material was available six months sooner. In searching the topic “industrial safety,” commercial publishers outproduced the GPO, although not by a great margin, while the GPO material was again considerably less expensive, an average of $24.79 per title, and available four months sooner.

While these results are based on a search of only two topics, it is believed that searches of other topics would produce similar results. This is particularly important for those libraries faced with the challenge of meeting a growing demand for business information with shrink- ing budgets. By using government publications to augment collection development, business librarians can increase their range of titles from which to make their book budgets go a little farther, and get a small hedge against the obsolescence rate of business material, since the government material may be available sooner and from a number of sources. The Monthly Catalog provides sales information for all documents available through the GPO. As the title indicates, this material is available on a monthly basis. Depository libraries may have the needed information, or individuals, companies, or libraries can establish a deposit account with the GPO. Orders can also be mailed or placed in person at one of the GPO’s 27 book- stores around the country. Additional ordering of documents can be accomplished online us- ing Dialog’s Dialorder or private suppliers of government publications, such as Bernan and Associates or Congressional Information Service, can also be used. These factors make a strong case for government publications as sources of business information.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Roberts, J.L. “As Information Swells, Firms Open Libraries,” Wall Street Journal (September 26, 1983), p. 3 1. 2. Hayes, R.M. and Erickson, T. “Added Value as a Function of Purchases of Information Services,” Informa-

tion Society 1 (December 1982): 307-338. 3. Business Books and Serials in Print, New York: R.R. Bowker, 1974, 1977, and 1981. 4. Grannis, C.B. “Book Trade Research and Statistics,” In Bowker Annual of Library and Book Trade Informa-

tion. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1983.

Business information sources 299

5. Hodowanec, G.V. “Literature Obsolescence, Dispersion, and Collection Development,” College & Research Libraries 44 (November 1983): 421-443. Hodowanec’s study was based on the collection at the William Allen White Library at Emporia State University. The subject areas in the study included: art, biology, business, edu- cation, English, fine arts and humanities, foreign languages, home economics, health and physical education, in- dustrial education, library science, life science, mathematics, music, pure and applied sciences, physical science, psychology, social and behavioral sciences, social studies/anthropology, and speech.

6. U.S. General Services Administration, National Archives and Records Service. The United States Government Manual, 1982/83, Washington, DC: GPO, 1983, p. 94.

7. U.S. Government Manual 1982/83, p. 131.

APPENDIX 1: A LIST OF THE MAJOR PRODUCERS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, ARRANGED ACCORDING TO THE GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE’S LIST OF CLASSES

Agriculture Department

A 67. Foreign Agricultural Service A 88. Agricultural Marketing Service A 92. Statistical Reporting Service A 93. Economic Research Service A 105. Economics and Statistics Service

Commerce Department

c 1.57/4: Access, Office of Minority Business Enterprise C 1.76: Commerce Business Daily c 3. Census Bureau c 21. Patent and Trademark Office C 46. Economic Development Administration c 51.9/3: Government Reports Announcements and Index c 55.301:-55.335: National Marine Fisheries Service c 57.13:-57.29: Industry and Trade Administration C 57.102:-57.119: Export Development Bureau C 57.202:-57.210: Resources and Trade Assistance Bureau C 57.402:-57.412: East-West Trade Bureau C 57.508: Domestic Commerce Bureau c 59. Economic Analysis Bureau C 61. International Trade Administration C 62. Industrial Economics Bureau

Defense Department

D 101.22:550- Area Handbook Series

Environmental Protection Agency

EP 1. Environmental Protection Agency

Farm Credit Administration

FCA Farm Credit Administration

Federal Home Loan Bank Board

FHL Federal Home Loan Bank Board

Federal Trade Commission

FT Federal Trade Commission

Superintendent of Documents

GP 3.8: Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications GP 3.22/2: Subject Bibliographies GP 3.22/3: Publications Reference File

Federal Register Office

GS 4.107: Federal Register OS 4.108: Code of Federal Regulations

300 FISHER and GERRY

Health and Human Services Department

HE 20.4001:-20.4040: Food and Drug Administration

Housing and Urban Development Department

HH 12. Federal Disaster Assistance Administration

Interstate Commerce Commission

IC Interstate Commerce Commission

International Trade Commission

ITC International Trade Commission

Labor Department

L Labor Department

Library of Congress

LC 3. Copyright Office

National Labor Relations Board

LR National Labor Relations Board

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NAS National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Overseas Private Investment Corporation

OP Overseas Private Investment Corporation

President of the United States

PR President of the United States

Executive Office of the President

PrEx Executive Office of the President

State Department

S State Department

Small Business Administration

SBA Small Business Administration

Securities and Exchange Commission

SE Securities and Exchange Commission

Treasury Department

T Treasury Department

International Trade Commission

TC International Trade Commission

Transportation Department

TD Transportation Department

Commissions, Committees, and Boards

Y 3.c73/5: Y 3.Cl6/3: Y 3.Ex7/3: Y 3.1n8/28: Y 3.527: Y 3.oc Y 3.P94:

Congress of the United States

Y 4.B22/1: Y 4.B22/3: Y 4.c73/7: Y 4.ECl: Y 4.Ed8/1:

Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (House) Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (Senate) Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (Senate) Joint Economic Committee Committee on Education and Labor (House)

Commodities Futures Trading Commission Consumer Product Safety Commission Export-Import Bank of the United States International Joint Commission, Canada-United States Japan-United States Friendship Commission Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Center National Center for Productivity and Quality of Working Life

Y 4.En2/3: Y 4.F49: Y 4.F76/1: Y 4.F76/2: Y 4.L11/4: Y 4.M53: Y 4Sml: Y 4.SmV2: Y 4. Tl9/4:

Business information sources

Committee on Energy and Commerce (House) Committee of Finance (Senate) Committee of Foreign Affairs (House) Committee on Foreign Relations (Senate) Committee on Labor and Human Resources (Senate) Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries (House) Committee on Small Business (House) Committee on Small Business (Senate) Joint Committee on Taxation

301