Library Databases

Published: November 23, 2023
Updated: January 26, 2024

Library Databases

The Expensive World Of Business Information

Believe it or not, you cannot find everything on Google! Have you ever done an online search and found the perfect industry report only to find that it costs over $5,000? Did you know that libraries pay for many expensive databases that could be helpful in your secondary market research? 

Search engines like Google can only provide direct access to freely available information. Most of the web, including business information, lives in databases behind expensive paywalls. This paywall-protected section of the Internet is known as the deep web. Fortunately, some libraries pay to subscribe to databases so they can provide free access to their patrons — and many business databases can contain useful information such as articles, market research, and company reports.

There are several strategies you can use to access relevant business information on the deep web. First, we urge you to look up what business resources your local public or academic library can provide access to. Each database has its own arrangement, with unique interfaces and search features. It helps to know the structure and search terms of the specific database you are working with in order to retrieve effective results. 

Also, it is important to know that library databases are restricted by specific usage agreements. It can help to consult with a librarian if you have trouble navigating a specific database. They may also be able to help you find comparable information elsewhere. Libraries with robust business collections might have useful e-books, directories and trade journals. As you conduct your secondary market research you will likely need to consult both free and deep web resources.

For more information about how and why to use business databases, check out our video tutorial, Module Four: Conducting Your Industry Research.

 
 

UBC Library Business Databases

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you may have access to business databases through the David Lam Management Research Library and Canaccord Learning Commons through the links below.

Full Listing By Title or Full Listing By Subject

There are two different ways to identify databases: Use "by title" if you already know the name; otherwise you can search the list "by subject" to find starting places for undertaking market research, finding articles or researching companies. To learn more about how you can access library resources if you are a community user or temporary visitor, check out the UBC Library Community Users & Visitors Guide. Community users and temporary visitors may have additional access restrictions to specific databases because of license agreements.

 

Provincial Library Database Partners

How to access: Check out the database list and note the License Participants to find out which institutions have access. Otherwise, contact your local post-secondary library to see what they offer.

BC Electronic Library Network (ELN) Research Databases

ELN licenses databases with partner academic libraries. These include LexisNexis, Canadian Newsstream, Hoovers, CBCA Business, ABI/INFORM Complete and others that may be of interest to business researchers.

 

ABI/INFORM Collection

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Created by ProQuest this database contains full-text articles from over 1,000 business magazines and journals that track business conditions, trends, management techniques, corporate strategies, and industry-specific topics.

  • “Business matters: Bookshop.org hits 3m profit for indie bookshops, as it pledges to increase online indie sales by 5x times in 5 years.” (2023). Newstex. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Nathalie op, d. B. (2023). Booksellers add TikTok to the toolbox. Publishers Weekly, 270(38), 6. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection
  • Susan, K. R., & Josh O’Kane. (2023, Sep 16). Turmoil in Indigo’s C-suite leaves publishers reading between the lines. Report on Business Magazine. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • “Bookstores - Quarterly Update 9/6/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Mottl, J. (2023). Bookseller taps ChatGPT for personalized customer experience. Newstex. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Gregory-Rivera, C. (2023, Jul 29). That cool new bookselling? It's Barnes & Noble. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Loeppky, J. (2022). Canadian booksellers talk shop. Publishers Weekly, 269(40). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • Nawotka, E., Kirch, C., & op de Beek, N. (2023). Indie booksellings wrap up 2022. Publishers Weekly, 270(3), 6. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.
  • “Bookstores - Quarterly Update 3/20/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection.

 

Canadian Business and Current Affairs (CBCA)

Provides access to general and specialized business information, current events, and reference materials, including popular and academic journals. Excellent for tracking trends for your specific product or industry.

  • “Tok of the town.” (2023, Sep 23). The Economist, 440(9364), pp. 75-76. Retrieved from Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database.
  • Alsharif, G. (2023, June 16). Rise of the indies: As big booksellings like Indigo struggle, independents are flourishing by focusing on their communities. Toronto Star. Retrieved from Canadian Business & Current Affairs Database.
     

Mergent Online

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Provides access to US and international public company data. This database also contains data on companies that were acquired, went bankrupt, liquidated or merged out of existence from 1995 forward. Users can compare companies and export data into programs like Excel.

 

BCC Research Centre

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource. Otherwise, contact your local library to see if they provide access.

Publishes 250 reports annually that are complete with market intelligence, five-year forecasts, statistical and analytical data, key players, market share, industry structure and dynamics, and technological shifts and trends.

  • BCC Research. (2022, September). Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores Market Global Briefing 2022: Ukraine-Russia War Impact (Report Code MKB426F). BCC Research. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre.
  • BCC Research. (2022, May). Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musician Instrument, and Book Stores Market Global Briefing 2022 (Report Code MKB426E). BCC Research. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre.
  • BCC Research. (2020, October). 2021 U.S. Book Stores Retailing Industry-Industry & Market Report (Report Code MBR1215A). BCC Research. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre. 
  • BCC Research. (2020, November). Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores Investment Competitor Outlook 2020: Covid 19 Impact and Recovery (Report Code MKB426C). BCC Research. Retrieved from BCC Research Centre.

 

Business Source Ultimate

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource. Otherwise, contact your local library to see if they provide access.

Includes financial data, books, videos, company profiles, SWOT analyses, industry profiles, country reports, market research reports and case studies. Also includes information on industry trends, forecasts, outlooks, competitors, how to run a specific business and much more.

  • Adolphus, E. (2023). South Brooklyn Bookstores Adapt. Publishers Weekly, 270(28), 6–8. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • O’Mara, S. L. (2023). Do you know your customer? Don’t take “cookie-cutter” approach. Furniture Today, 47, 28. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Milliot, J. (2023). Bookstore Sales Bounce Back. Publishers Weekly, 270(8), 3. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • Nawotka, E., Kirch, C., & op de Beeck, N. (2023). The Year in Bookselling. Publishers Weekly, 270(3), 8–10. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • “Barnes Reports: Book Stores Retailing Industry (NAICS 451211).” (2023). United States Book Stores Retailing Industry Report, 1–184. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.
  • “Barnes Reports: Book Stores Retailing Industry (NAICS 451211).” (2023). Worldwide Book Stores Retailing Industry Report,1-138. Retrieved from Business Source Ultimate database.

 

First Research Industry Profiles

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, or faculty you can access many of these reports through ABI/INFORM and/or Business Market Research Collection (Proquest).

Covers over 900 industry segments. Updated on a quarterly basis, these industry profiles contain critical analysis, statistics and forecasts to help you engage key prospects, coach key clients, and deepen customer relationships. You can search for reports by NAICS, SIC or keyword or browse by category.

  • “Bookstores - quarterly update 9/6/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection; Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Book publishers - quarterly update 6/19/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection; Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Bookstores - quarterly update 6/5/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection; Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Bookstores - quarterly update 3/20/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Collection; Business Market Research Collection.

 

IBISWorld Industry Reports

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

IBISWorld research is an independent, professional publisher of high-quality market research reports. These reports analyze the underlying structure and external forces that drive an industry.

  • Maldonado, C. (2023, June). Book Stores in Canada: Industry Report 45131CA. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld Industry Reports.
  • Brocker, M. (2023, April). Book Stores in the US: Industry Report US 45121. IBISWorld. Retrieved from IBISWorld Industry Reports.

 

Business Market Research Collection (Proquest)

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

Business Market Research Collection brings together four sources to help students more easily conduct the research they need to produce business plans, marketing plans, startup plans, market growth analysis, and strategic and financial plans. Includes access to: Hoover's Company Profiles, OxResearch, Barnes Reports, and the older Snapshots Series, which includes market research overviews on over 40 industries and 40 countries to 2008.

  • “Powell's Books, Inc.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Barnes & Noble, Inc.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Internet & mail-order retail - quarterly update 9/6/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from Business Market Research Collection.
  • “Bookstores - quarterly update 9/6/2023.” (2023). Mergent. Retrieved from Business Market Research Collection.

 

Statista

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

A simple to use statistics portal that integrates statistics from thousands of sources, on topics related to business, media, public policy, health and others. Statistics can be exported in PPT, XLS, PDF, and PNG formats. Some basic content available for free.

  • BookNet Canada. (2023, March). Number of books sold in Canada from 2013 to 2022 (in million units) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • BookNet Canada. (2023, March). Revenue from book sales in Canada from 2013 to 2022 (in million Canadian dollars) [Graph]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • BookNet Canada. (2023, May). Most used sales channels for buying books among consumers in Canada in 2022, by format [Graph]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • BookNet Canada. (2023, May). Factors which influence the decision to read a specific book in Canada in 2022 [Graph]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • The Happy Guy Writing Services. (2023, January). Most popular book genres read in the last year among book readers in Canada as December 2022 [Graph]. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). E-Book shops: Apple Books customers in Canada: Customer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). Book stores: Coles shoppers in Canada: Consumer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). Book stores: Chapters shoppers in Canada: Consumer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). Book stores: Indigo shoppers in Canada: Consumer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Digital Market Insights. (2023, August). Number of digital publishing product users in Canada from 2017 to 2027, by format (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Digital Market Insights. (2023, August). Digital publishing revenue in Canada from 2017 to 2027, by format (in million U.S. dollars) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). E-Book shops: Amazon customers in Canada: Consumer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.
  • Statista Consumer Insights. (2023). E-Book shops: Kobo/Rakuten Kobo customers in Canada: Consumer Insights report. Statista. Retrieved from Statista database.

 

WARC: World Advertising Research Center

How to access: If you are a UBC student, staff, faculty or in-person library visitor you can access this resource.

WARC has case studies from major companies and advertising agencies, as well as articles from leading advertising journals and unpublished papers. It also includes company profiles, advertising spending statistics, and demographic and economic data.

  • “Kinokuniya: Time to Read.” (2023). World Advertising Research Center. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • “Writer’s Shop: Open shelves.” (2021). World Advertising Research Center. Retrieved from WARC database.
  • “Rakuten Kobo: Kobo’s Bookstore Therapy - A YouTuber’s diagnosis.” (2018). World Advertising Research Center. Retrieved from WARC database.

 

Newspapers and News Sources - UBC Library Research Guide

How to access: The guide can be viewed through the link below. Individual resources and databases will have different access requirements.

UBC Library has an excellent collection of current and historical newspapers from B.C., Canada, and around the world. UBC affiliates will have access to these resources.

  • Loeppky, J. (2022). Canadian booksellers talk shop. Publishers Weekly, 269(40) Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database.
  • Beattie, J. (2023, April 27). Indie booksellings redefine reader's retail shopping experience - and become part of the community. The Toronto Star. Retrieved from Canadian Newsstream database.