University of New Hampshire Library

How to Research Companies at the UNH Library

 

Before You Begin

Before you begin your search for company information, there are some basic facts you should know:

  1. It is much easier to find information about publicly owned companies (companies that have public shareholders) than it is for privately held ones. Public companies must report extensive financial information to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and must issue annual reports to shareholders. These reports are available through the company (and often are on the company's website), the SEC, or commercial services acquired by the Library and available on campus, such as Mergent Online or Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe.
  2. Corporations are usually easier to find information about than their subsidiaries or divisions. This is because annual reports are issued for the entire company, not individual units.
  3. Large, national companies are easier to locate than small, local ones. Many services and directories do not include companies below a certain size.
  4. The UNH Library probably does not have everything you may need. However, we can provide information on trade associations, chambers of commerce, and government offices if you need to look further. Please do not hesitate to contact the Reference Department staff at 862-1544 or at the Reference Desk on the main floor (Level 3) of Dimond Library for more assistance.
  5. Always check newspaper and magazine indexes for articles on your company. Periodicals can be especially helpful if you are looking for information on a private or regional company. The indexes available at UNH are listed later in this guide. Several of these indexes include the full text of some or all of the articles identified.

 

Starting Off

Depending on the company you are interested in and what you already know about it, there are several ways to begin:

Option 1: Ownership. To determine of your company is publicly owned (that is, shares in your company are publicly traded), check:

    1. Reference USA - a database that contains basic information on nearly 12 million U.S. businesses
    2. Stock price listings in the Wall Street Journal or The New York Times or on various financial websites such as CNNmoney or BusinessWeek Online
    3. Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies (Ref HG 4057 .W26) Available at the Reference Desk, Dimond Library

Option 2: General Directories. For information on large public and private companies, there are several online databases as well some standard directories you can check:

    1. Mergent Online - integration of various full-text databases, such as Moody's Industrial Manual, the SEC EDGAR files, and Company Data Direct for both US and international companies
    2. Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies (Ref HG 4057 .W26) Available at the Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    3. Thomas Register - a directory of North American manufacturers
    4. International Directory of Company Histories (Ref HD 2721 .I63) 
    5. Business Rankings Annual: Lists of Companies, Products, Services, and Activities Compiled from a Variety of Published Sources (Ref HG 4050 .B88) 
    6. Encyclopedia of Consumer Brands (Ref HF 5415.3 .E527 1994) 

Option 3: Subsidiaries and Divisions. If you did not locate your company name in the some of the above sources, it may be a division or subsidiary of a larger company. To determine the status of a company and its parent corporation, look at:

    1. Reference USA - a database that contains basic information on nearly 12 million U.S. businesses
    2. Directory of Corporate Affiliations (Ref HG 4057 .A219)

Option 4: Privately Owned Companies. Is your company privately owned? Many national business directories will include both public and private companies. They will include, however, only very large ones, so you may not find your company listed. The best sources of information on private companies are:

    1. Reference USA - a database that contains basic information on nearly 12 million U.S. businesses
    2. Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies (Ref HG 4057 .W26) Available at the Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    3. Thomas Register - a directory of North American manufacturers

Option 5: Local and Regional Companies. Most small or local companies are privately owned and may be too small to appear in many national directories. UNH has several local and regional directories that will provide basic information, such as addresses, telephone numbers, number of employees, sales voolume, and principal products or services. Some usefuldirectories are:

    1. New Hampshire Manufacturing Directory (Ref HF 5065.N4 N48) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    2. New Hampshire Business and Professional Directory (Ref HC 107.N4 N43) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    3. New Hampshire Register (Ref  JK 2930 .N4) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    4. Maine Manufacturing Directory (Ref HD 9727.M2 M34)
    5. Maine Business and Professional Directory (Ref HF 5065.M2 M25)
    6. The New England Directory of Technology Companies (Ref HD 9696.A3 U5693)
    7. Harris New England Manufacturers Directory (Ref HD 9723 .D45)
    8. D & B Regional Business Directory. New England Area (Ref HG 4057.A11 D86) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library

Option 6: International or Foreign-Owned Companies. If your company is located outside the United States or it has established established a U.S. division or subsidiary, you may not be able to find extensive information. Foreign-owned companies operations in the U.S. are not subject to the same financial disclosure laws as domestic companies, unless they are listed on a U.S. stock exchange. Many of the large corporate directories will list these companies. There are also some specialized directories that may give you useful information:

    1. Japan Company Handbook (Ref HC 461.A1 J36)
    2. International Directory of Company Histories (Ref HD 2721 .I6)
    3. Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries (Ref HG 4538.A1 D5)
    4. Principal International Businesses (Ref HF 54.U5 P74) 

Option 7: Specialized Companies. The Library has many directories that cover a single industry or service. Although many of these companies will be privately owned, these directories can be good sources of information:

    1. Sports Market Place (Ref HD 9992.U2 S667)
    2. D & B Consultants Directory (Ref HD 69.C6 D86)
    3. Consultants and Consulting Organizations Directory (Ref  HD 69.C6 C647) 
    4. Dun & Bradstreet/Gale Group Industry Handbook: Insurance and Health & Medical Services  (Ref HG 9765 .D86 2000)
    5. D&B Healthcare Reference Book   (Ref HD 9994.U5 D86)
    6. Thomas Food Industry Register (Ref HD 9321.3 T5)
    7. GreenBook: Worldwide Directory of Marketing Research Companies and Services  (Ref  HF 5415.2 .G7)
    8. The Advertising Red Books: Advertisers  (Ref HF 5805 .S7) and The Advertising Red Books:Agencies  (Ref HF 5805 .S72)

 

Periodical and Newspaper Indexes

Magazines and newspapers can be excellent sources of information that may not be available elsewhere. Of the many online business and economics databases available to UNH students, faculty, and staff, the following list selects some that will be helpful in finding company and industry information. Some of these index databases will also contain the full text of some or most of the articles included. These databases are accessible from computers on-campus; UNH students, faculty, and staff may also access these databases (and the other UNH databases listed above) from off-campus by following these instructions.

    1. Business Source Premier - Indexes over 2,600 business periodicals and scholarly journals mostly from 1993.
    2. Business Source Corporate - Contains information from over 2,500 full-text periodicals and a directory covering over 3 million companies.Also includes company profiles.
    3. Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe - Full-text database of news, business, legal and government information. News resources include articles from international and national newspapers, magazines and trade journals, and broadcast media transcripts. Business resources include business and industry news as well as company information.
    4. Newsbank InfoWeb - News articles from more than 500 U.S. local, regional, and national newspapers, newswires and business journals from 1993 to present.
    5. Academic Search Premier - Provides full text for nearly 3,180 academic, social sciences, humanities, general science, education, and multicultural journals (many from 1990) and indexing and abstracts for over 3,390 journals (often starting in 1984).
    6. The New York Times Digital Archive - Searchable database of page images of articles from The New York Times from 1851 to approximately three years ago.

The following indexes are available in print at Dimond Library:

    1. The Boston Globe Index 1988+ (Ref AI 21 .B67) 
    2. The Wall Street Journal Index 1958+ (Ref HG 1 .W26)
    3. F&S Index United States Annual 1993+ (RefInd Z 7164.T87 F81) 
    4. Business Periodials Index 1958+ (RefInd Z 7164.C81 B983)

 

Industry Information

Information on industry and marketing trends is not always available, and what is available may require some extensive digging. The following sources may provide some useful information:

    1. Standard & Poor's Net Adavantage (Industry Surveys) - provides in-depth financial and business analysis of 52 major U.S. industries, including information about recent developments with forecasts of industry conditions and emerging trends. Users can view tables, charts, and graphs of key industry conditions and statistics along with textual analysis and commentary. Information is available for the most recent 3-4 years. The most recent year's Industry Surveys are also available in print at the Reference Desk in Dimond Library.
    2. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios (Ref HF 5681.R25 A4) Most recent edition available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    3. RMA Annual Statement Studies (Ref  HF 5681.B2 R6)  Most recent edition available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    4. The Value Line Investment Survey (Ref HG 6051 .V26) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    5. The Lifestyle Market Analyst (Ref HF 5415.33.U6 L54) Available at Reference Desk, Dimond Library
    6. Market Share Reporter (Ref  HF 5410 .M35)
    7. Rand McNally Commercial Atlas & Marketing Guide (Ref G 1200 .R3) Available near map cases in Hubbard Reading Room 
    8. Sport Business Research Network - focuses on the sporting goods and sports marketing industry

 

For More Help

 

Revised March 18, 2005