Core Competencies for Business Reference

Abstract

The Education Committee of the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) strives to support all librarians and researchers with their business reference needs. The Core Competencies for Business Reference series is one of the results of this goal. This article serves as an introduction to the ten core competencies guides currently included in the series. CORE COMPETENCIES FOR BUSINESS REFERENCE One of the primary goals of the Education Committee of the Business Reference and Services Section (BRASS) of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is to support the needs of business reference librarians and other librarians involved in providing business reference service and to develop educational resources to support this goal. In light of these goals, the BRASS Education Committee has created two Web guides: the Core Competencies for Business Reference and Best of the Best Business Web Sites. (1) This article is an introduction to the Core Competencies for Business Reference guides. The Core Competencies for Business Reference guides were created by, and are maintained by, members of the BRASS Education Committee. There are ten core competencies guides in the series: * accounting; * advertising and marketing; * banking; * company and industry research; * insurance; * international business; * investment and finance; * jobs and human resources; * small business; and * taxation. Each core competencies guide defines the basic concepts associated with each respective topic and lists the core resources, both print and online, needed to develop a working knowledge of the research area, and that are likely to be available in small- to medium-sized libraries' business-reference collections. Each guide includes a scope statement, a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and, when needed, a glossary of important terms. The guides provide a foundation for research by describing the context and resources that support basic information-seeking in each topic area. Each guide presents distinctive characteristics of the discipline requiring special resources. They list current resources used every day by business librarians, and materials that will help readers further develop knowledge of the discipline. The discussion that follows describes each of the ten core competencies guides, with information on scope and content, as well as the benefits to using each guide. CORE COMPETENCIES FOR BUSINESS REFERENCE IN ACCOUNTING Core Competencies for Business Reference in Accounting helps make a complex subject area, which even some business librarians consider daunting, more approachable and less intimidating. In conjunction with the BRASS Core Competencies for Taxation, this guide covers basic and advanced areas of accounting reference. While you will still need to take some auditing courses or hire an accounting firm to tackle actual accounting problems, this Core Competencies guide covers everything from what accounting standards are and where they are found, to which indexing sources and databases cover articles in accounting, to information on how to cite it all. It will also help you to differentiate between accountants, bookkeepers, and CPAs. Originally developed by Edith Gilbreath with assistance from Tony Lin, Core Competencies for Business Reference in Accounting was reorganized and updated in 2005 by former BRASS Education Committee Chair Ann Fiegen and is currently maintained by Lee Pike. CORE COMPETENCIES FOR BUSINESS REFERENCE IN ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Core Competencies for Business Reference in Advertising and Marketing focuses on information resources, both print and online, in the area of marketing. Marketing can be divided into several categories, including advertising, direct marketing, franchising, market research, retailing, sales, and service. …