INFORMATION UPDATE
             "Offering Information Solutions"
   December, 2002                              Number 39
   A Monthly Publication of Shamel Information Services
               mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com

Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, the free monthly newsletter 
                 for people who need to know.

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     IN THIS ISSUE
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     => Do It Yourself - Understanding Your Industry
     => Did You Know - You Can Commission Customized
                           Industry Overview Reports

     => Notes, News and Announcements
     => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information


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     DO IT YOURSELF - Understanding Your Industry
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In order to understand the marketplace within which your
business operates, you need to understand the suppliers,
distributors, products, prices, manufacturers, customers,
and companies which participate in that marketplace. 
Together, these players comprise the industry.

Sometimes you can locate an industry overview which will
explain the history, trends, current technologies, forecasts,
and regulations which affect an industry.  Try searching
Google, Teoma, or AlltheWeb using subject words such as
"bicycles" or "computer monitors" and combining that with
a descriptive term such as "industry overview" or "industry
trend"  You may find this a suitable starting place.

After that, consider going to the U.S. Government agency 
called the International Trade Administration for free
government industry reports at http://www.ita.doc.gov.  
Take time to explore the site, but if you follow the link
at the top of the Home Page called Trade Statistics, you
will find reference to a number of industry related 
resources.

There are also a number of fee-based sources that can offer
current and comprehensive industry reports.  These include:

Hoovers http://www.hoovers.com
Financial Times http://news.ft.com/home/us/
Thomson Financial Industry Insider available through sources
   such as Alacra http://www.alacra.com

Sometimes existing reports may not have the scope, depth or
currency that you need.  In those cases, you may choose to
commission a customized report to meet your needs.

       Google http://www.google.com
       Teoma http://www.teomar.com
       AlltheWeb http://www.alltheweb.com

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       Did You Know? - You Can Commission Customized
                           Industry Overview Reports
************************************************************

When "off the shelf" reports do not meet your needs, consider
contacting a professional research consultant to create a
customized report for you.

Often, by searching secondary sources such as current busi-
ness publications, news, analyst reports, and trade 
literature it is possible to gather the information needed to
create a current industry overview.  An experienced researcher
can locate information from these sources, analyze it and
write an executive summary.  The result is an up-to-date
report of industry size, trends, forecasts, and statistics.

For customized industry research call Shamel Information
Services at 858-673-4673.

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       Notes, News, and Announcements
*************************************************************
                Weather Picture of the Day.  
       Go to http://www.weatherpictureoftheday.com/ 
            for a new weather picture each day.

Cynthia L. Shamel, editor of Information Update, wishes you
        all a happy and healthy holiday season!!


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The Shamel Information Services web site at 
http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. 
Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you 
might have missed.

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     SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
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Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free.  You may 
subscribe or unsubscribe by sending a message to:
	mailto:InfoUpdate@shamelinfo.com with SUBSCRIBE or
	UNSUBSCRIBE  in the subject line.

Copyright 2002 Shamel Information Services

Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its 
entirety. Other uses without permission may violate copyright.

Online archives at http://shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Cynthia L. Shamel, editor
Shamel Information Services
Poway, California
mailto:cshamel@shamelinfo.com

Author, "Centralized Library and Learning Resources:
   A Remote Access Demonstration Project," Community &
   Junior College Libraries 10(4):13-28.
Author, "Building a Brand: Got Librarian?" 
   Searcher July/August, 2002.
   http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/default.htm

President-Elect of the Association of Independent 
Information Professionals http://www.aiip.org.

Telephone: 858-673-4673
Toll Free: 800-330-9939