Team Librarian Consultation

Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of business databases on its homepage; see under Business Databases; see also the four folders at the top of that list for lists of Foster databases by topic:  books, articles--full text, articles--citations and abstracts, and company and industry.   For more information on the three dozen Foster business databases, click here.   For more information about which of the three dozen Foster business databases to use, click here.   For more information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, click here. For answers to some frequently-asked questions about connecting to UW library databases from off-campus, click here. And, finally, see the UW Libraries' Database Usage Guidelines.
• Hoovers Online:   Under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. Hoovers Online offers information about 14,000 public and private companies worldwide, with links to company homepages and annual reports, charts, company capsule, competitors, divisions, earnings, financials, Fortune and Forbes rankings, history, industry information, insider trading, mission statements, news links, press releases, officers, patents, products, SEC filings, splits, subsidiaries, etc. Most information on this site is free and available on the Web (not just through the Foster Business Library homepage) but, via the Foster homepage, you can access the more detailed Premium Content.

  MGM Mirage straddles two industries, Lodging and Gaming, which some sources treat together and other sources treat separately. See the Company Fact Sheet and Company Overview for MGM Mirage, as well as their Competitive Landscape, Products/Operations, and Financials. See also the Fact Sheet for the Gambling Resorts & Casinos industry. In addition, see their Lodging Industry Fact Sheet and Overview.

• Lexis-Nexis Academic:   To find company information, go to Business and then to Company Financial where you can obtain financial and other data for companies. Information is available from twenty different sources (each of which must be searched separately). Included among the sources is Hoovers Online, with members' access to company profiles. SEC filings, particularly company 10K annual reports, are a particularly rich source of company as well as industry information. Use your browser's Find command (or Control-F) to locate references to particular terms of interest in 10K filings such as trends, strategy, competitors, industry, etc. (This database is available widely on campus and may be accessed from home via the U.W. connectivity kit or via the Libraries' proxy server.)

  A search for SEC 10-K reports for MGG, for all dates, retrieved over 80 reports or parts of reports. A quick look in their latest 10-K filing for Industry retrieved ten references; for Information Technology, no reference; Electronic Commerce, no references; Asia, one reference; Europe, two references.

• Investext:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases; also listed under Company and Industry. Investext contains indexing and the full text of company and industry research reports prepared by leading Wall Street firms, as well as regional and international brokerage and financial firms. All reports are in PDF format. (This database is available widely on campus and may be accessed from home via the U.W. connectivity kit or via the Libraries' proxy server.)

  A search in Investext for MGG produced over 750 reports. An industry search for Restaurants, Lodging produced a list of over 12,000 reports, with the most recent reports listed at the top.

• Euromonitor Market Research:   This database provides global consumer market information, with demographics, trends and developments, market background, market sizes and forecasts, market shares, key players, and company profiles. This database provides over 1,800 reports with market data and detailed company profiles, including market shares, brand information, company strategy and SWOT analyses of the companies, for many countries. For eight major countries (Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States), in-depth industry information is also available. Euromonitor also publishes important print titles in the Foster Business Library reference collection including European marketing data and statistics, International marketing data and statistics, and World consumer income and expenditure patterns.

  A search in this database, in text, for the Hotel Industry, produced 18 reports. A similar search for MGM produced three reports.

• EIU Online:   One of the world's top sources for country intelligence, the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) employs 500 analysts who research almost 200 nations. The Foster Business Library provides access to their Country Profiles, Country Reports, Country Commerce, and Country Finance in print editions and this database provides online access to these publications, often in both HTML and PDF formats.

  An advanced search in Viewswires, for Hotel Industry retrieved a list of over 160 articles. A search for MGM Mirage retrieved ten articles. A search for Casinos, over 300 articles; Casinos and Asia, over 70 articles; for Casinos and Europe, almost 70 articles .

• Forrester Research:   Under Business Databases on the Foster Business Library homepage. Forrester Research provides access to reports and briefings on the effects of technology change on businesses, consumers, and society, and analyzes such technology areas as new media, computing, software, networking, telecommunications, and the Internet. To use this database, UW users must establish a personal account from a UW IP address. (Available from off-campus.)

  A search in Forrester Research for Hotel Industry retrieved 246 reports, eight with relevancy ratings higher than 60%. A search for Gambling produced 167 reports but the highest relevancy rating was just 9%.

• InfoTech Trends:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases; also listed under Company and Industry. This database indexes statistics and forecasts published in computer and telecommunication trade publications and offers this information in chart format (also available in Microsoft Excel format).

  A search in this database, for all quarters beginning with 2001, for Hotel retrieved 14 tables. A similar search, for Gambling, produced just four tables.

• Value Line:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases.   Stock information and advice on 1,700 companies, 90 industries, the stock markets and the economy; an online version of the print Value Line Investment Survey. To search for companies or industries, go to the left menu for Look Up Company or Look Up Industry.

  Value Line includes the MGM Mirage as well as information on the Hotel/Gaming Industry.

• Compact Disclosure:   Information on over 10,000 public U.S. corporations, including ownership, size, current and 5-year summary financial data, earnings, directors and officers, annual cash flow, ratios and stock price information. Updated quarterly. Note the various backfiles which must be accessed separately. This CD-ROM database is available only in the Foster Business Library.

  Complete financials for MGG are available in this database and its backfiles.

• Mediamark Reporter:     CD-ROM version of Mediamark Research, a tool for market research, with information on demographics, product and brand usage, and advertising media preferences based on survey responses from a sample of over 25,000 consumers in the United States. Print copies of Mediamark Research are available in over 20 volumes in the Foster Business Library reference collection, call number HF5415.3 .M43, dated spring 1998; the online version offers year 2000 data. Search tips for using this database are available by clicking here. Available only on PC #19.

  See Travel: Hotels & Motels; no mention of the MGM Mirage.

Web Resources:

Unlike library databases, these online resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the UW Connectivity Kit or the UW Libraries Proxy Server for authentication. For links to business websites by topic, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage. Good sources for business topics include trade associations (which often provide industry data unavailable elsewhere) and government regulatory and oversight agencies (which are also a good source for industry data). When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources.
• MGM Mirage:   Company websites often provide extensive amounts of corporate information including histories of the company, investor information such as annual reports and Securities and Exchange Commission filings, historical stock prices, executive biographies, company news and press releases, etc. Look for this information under headings for Investor Relations, About The Company, etc.

  See The Company for the organization's mission statement and Investor Relations, including Annual Reports back to the year 2000.

• Quicken.Com:   This site is a good source for information about companies and about their position among their competitors; use the Compare Companies feature on the left menu for this information.

  See the company profile for MGM Mirage as well as the company's position among its competitors in terms of market capitalization in the Resorts & Casinos industry.

• Yahoo! Finance:   This site is excellent for company and investment information as well as an excellent source for financial ratio comparisons with industry, sector and S&P 500.

  See the company profile for MGM Mirage as well as Competitors, Industry, and Key Statistics.

• American Gaming Association:   Trade and industry associations are often excellent sources for statistical and other information, often in greater detail than is available from other sources, such as government agencies. This association "represents the commercial casino entertainment industry by addressing federal legislative and regulatory issues affecting its members and their employees and customers, such as federal taxation, regulatory issues, and travel and tourism matters."

  See About the Casino Industry.

• Casino Management Association:   "The Casino Management Association is a professional international organization providing education, training, information and networking opportunities…. Working with the casino industry and its employees, the CMA establishes, communicates and facilitates professional standards for the industry."

  See their Gaming Links.

• American Hotel and Lodging Association:   This association claims it is the largest hotel and lodging organization in the world, "with some 11,000 property members worldwide, representing more than 1.5 million guest rooms." This site has a search engine.

  See their Industry News, including their Technology News. A search for the term Electronic Commerce produced just two documents; for Information Technology, 22 documents.

• Career Guide to Industries:   This Bureau of Labor Statistics site, part of the online Occupational Outlook Handbook, offers a career-oriented description of many industries, with information on the nature of the industry, working conditions, employment, occupations in the industry, training, earnings and outlook, as well as sources of additional information.

  See Hotels and Other Lodging Places.

Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

The Foster Business Library reference collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in the center of the library's first floor. The reference works listed below are arranged according to call number and, since none of these books circulate, they should always be available--except when in use by a library user.
• Travel industry economics: a guide for financial analysis.
  This monograph covers the economic aspects of the travel industry, including economic perspectives, travel, hotels, casinos, amusement parks, and tourism.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: G155 .A1 .V64 2001.

  See chapter four for Hotels, on pages 93 to 117, and chapter five, for Casinos, on pages 119 to 148.

• International marketing data and statistics.
  Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania; companion volume to European marketing data and statistics.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA42 .I56. 2003.
  Also available online.

  See Hotels, on pages 309, 391, 420 to 421, and 643 to 645.

• Statistical abstract of the United States.
  Information about many industries as well as demographic information; check index for references to tables. The sources for each table are often a valuable source of additional information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA202 .U56 2002.

  See index page 909 for references to tables on Hotels and Other Lodging Places.

• European marketing data and statistics.
  Demographic trends and forecasts, economic indicators, labor force, trade, energy, environment, consumer expenditures and market size, and retailing information for European countries.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HA1107 .E87 2002.
  Also available online.

  See Hotels on pages 122 to 123, 240 to 243, 270 to 271, and 423.

• Standard & Poor's industry surveys.
  This three-volume set provides 30-page profiles on 52 industries with a focus on the current economic environment, trends, regulation and outlook for each industry. Major companies in each industry are profiled, with references to sources of additional industry information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC106.6 .S74 (Quarterly)

  See the industry profile for Lodging & Gaming in volume two, dated February 2003; at the end of that profile, see the Comparative Company Analysis in which MGM Mirage is featured, among Other Companies With Significant Casino Operations.

• Industry studies.
  This excellent reference work provides essays, mostly by professors of economics, about 14 significant industries: automobiles, beer, broilers, pharmaceuticals, steel, airline service, retail commercial banking, casino gambling, electric power, health insurance, motion pictures, nursing homes, microcomputer platforms, and telecommunications.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HC106.8 .I53 2002.

  See Casino Gambling on pages 194 to 213.

• Encyclopedia of global industries.
  Twelve-page descriptions of 125 global industries, with background and development information, current conditions, industry leaders and further reading.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2324 .E53 2003.

  See Gaming and Gambling Establishments, starting on page 279, and Hotels and Other Lodging Places, starting on page 286 (with a reference to MGM Mirage on page 284).

• International directory of company histories.
  Studying the history of leading companies in an industry is a good way to learn more about the history of an industry. This set of more than forty volumes covers over 5,600 company histories worldwide, with each history running just two to four pages; check the company index in the latest volume to locate a specific company history or update as well as any other references to that company in other company histories. There is also an index by industry.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HD2721 .I57

  See the Mirage Resorts, Inc. in volume six, pages 209 to 212, with an update in volume 28, pages 275 to 279.

• Plunkett's airline, hotel & travel industry almanac.
  This almanac offers information about major industry trends, industry statistics, industry information, major companies in the industry, with indexes by state, country, region, etc. The major part of the almanac provides one-page profiles of companies in the industry, with directory information, growth plans and special features, contacts, brief financials, brief salary and benefits data, and women officer-director and advancement information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HE9803 .A2 .P58 2002.

  See MGM Mirage on page 300; see hotel industry trends on pages 15 and 39 to 47.

• Market share reporter.
  Annual compilation of U.S., Canadian and Mexican market share data for companies, products and services, arranged by SIC code, and with indexes by product, company and topic.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .M35 2004.

  See Hotels and Other Lodging Places on pages 422 to 423, and Gambling on pages 456 to 457.

• World market share reporter.
  An annual compilation of market share information for worldwide companies culled from thousands of periodical articles; use the company, product or brand indexes in the back of the volume to identify the company that you are researching.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .W67 2001-2002.

  See Hotels and Other Lodging Places on pages 401 to 402, and Casinos on page 433.

• U.S. market trends & forecasts.
  This large volume provides an overview and projections for 400 significant industries and their component products or services, arranged alphabetically by industry name. For each product or service, there is a brief indication of the value of the U.S. market in 1998 and the compound U.S. market growth rate from 1993 to 1998 as well as a graph depicting market value in dollars and the growth rate. There is also a brief analysis of the market sectors for the product or service and a description of the market segmentation by volume for 1997, plus U.S. market share and market forecast information.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.1 .U8 2001.

  See Gaming on pages six to seven, and Hotels and Motels on pages 23 to 25.

• The Lifestyle market analyst.
  Market analysis information including demographic, geographic and lifestyle information to identify who customers are, where they live, how they spend their time and money and how to reach them.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5415.33 .U6 .L54 2003.

  See Casino Gambling on pages 705 to 707. See also Lifestyles such as Foreign Travel, Frequent Flyer, Travel for Business, Travel for Pleasure, Travel in USA under Good Life on pages 770 to 777 and pages 930 to 941.

• Mergent industrial manual.
  This two-volume work covers all companies listed on the New York and American stock exchanges, with extensive information about companies, including history, chronology, acquisitions, mergers, spinoffs, properties, joint ventures, subsidiaries, officers and directors, consolidated income and balance sheets for three and two years, respectively, long term debit, options, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4961 .M67 2003.

  See MGM Mirage in volume two, on pages 3839 to 3842.

• Mergent industry review.
  Statistical data on 3,000 companies in 137 industries, with ranking, key financial information, operating data and ratios.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4961 .M68

  MGM Mirage may be found in the Motels and Hotels industry section, on pages 329 to 331 in the August 2003—January 2004 issue.

This collection is located on the south side of the library, through the two pass-throughs to the Balmer basement. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

The Foster Business Library General Stacks collection contains 70,000 business-related books. These books may be found by searching the UW Libraries Catalog. The UW Libraries Catalog may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases or at the top of the left menu under FIND IT).

Look under Keywords for the company of your choice; limit by library Location to the Foster Business Library when doing a Keyword search for business topics. For help in searching the UW Libraries Catalog, click HELP.

Circulation status is indicated in the box in the middle of each online catalog record, on the right. Check Shelf indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. Due and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated. Books that are already checked out to someone else, or books at the Bothell or Tacoma campus libraries (or elsewhere on the Seattle campus) may be reserved for your use and sent here to Foster by using the Request button on the upper menu. Books unavailable in any of the University of Washington Libraries may be available in the collections of Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, The Evergreen State College, Washington State University, or Western Washington University through the Cascade online catalog. To search Cascade, use the menu button for Repeat Search in Cascade. It can take from a few days to a week or more to obtain books from other libraries and to have them sent to Foster for you to pick up so use this option only if you can afford to wait.

A search for the keyword MGM Mirage produced no records. A search for Casino produced a list of 124 records in the UW Libraries, with just four records in the Foster Business Library.

A subject search for Casinos produced 37 records in the UW Libraries, with just two records in the Foster Business Library.

A search for the subject Gambling produced a list of over 400 in the UW Libraries, including six records in the Foster Business Library.

A search for the subject Hotels produced a list of more than 670 records in the UW Libraries, with more than 20 records in the Foster Business Library's collections.

The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of several thousand annual reports for hundreds of U.S. and foreign companies. These reports are filed in lateral filing cabinets near the Foster Reference desk under the sign Corporate Annual Reports. Annual reports for companies in an industry can be a valuable source of information about the industry itself. For a list of all the companies in the Corporate Annual Reports collection, click here. For an index to corporate annual reports in the collection by industry sector, click here. For an index to companies with headquarters outside the U.S., click here.

Corporate annual reports are also often available on company homepages. A good source for those annual reports is Hoovers Online on the Foster Business Library homepage, under Business Databases.

The Corporate Annual Reports collection does not include reports for MGM Mirage. See the reports for other companies in the Leisure industry.

Foster Business Library Articles:

In addition to the 800 journals in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection, the Foster Business Library offers access to 11,000 full text periodical articles through its full text article databases such as: ABI/Inform Global, Factiva, and Lexis-Nexis Academic. These article databases may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, listed alphabetically under Business Databases or in the Articles: Full Text folder.

Of these three main sources, all but Factiva are available from any computer on the campus network (as well as from home) via the UW Connectivity Kit or via the Libraries' proxy server. The easiest of these databases to use is ABI/Inform Global. For more information about accessing Foster Business Library databases from off campus, click here. For more information about business databases, click here.

• ABI/Inform Global:

  This database offers full text articles for over 800 journals. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box. ABI/Inform Global includes journals but not national or Washington state newspapers (though the Wall Street Journal is included). It also does not include valuable trade and industry and other periodicals. Your searches will span the widest possible array of publications by expanding your search to all databases in ABI/Inform. To expand your search to include all collections in this database, click on Select multiple databases, to the right of the search box. Click on all of the databases.

  Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article. For tips on searching this database, click here.

  A search for the subject SUB(Hotels & Motels) produced over 52,000 articles, with 136 related narrowing terms, from Account Reviews to Wireless Communications, including:

  SUB(Hotels & Motels) and SUB(Electronic commerce,) over 150 articles;
  SUB(Hotels & Motels) and SUB(Information technology), over 150 articles;
  SUB(Hotels & Motels) and SUB(Market Strategy), over 1,000 articles.

  A similar search for SUB(Casinos) produced over 23,000 articles; for SUB(Casinos) and Electronic Commerce, 12 articles; for SUB(Casinos) and Information Technology, 21 articles; for SUB(Casinos) and Competitors, just one article.

  A search for CO(MGM Mirage) produced over 80 articles; for CO(MGM Mirage) and Electronic Commerce, one article; for CO(MGM Mirage) and Information Technology, no articles; for CO(MGM Mirage) and Competitors, just one article.

The Foster Business Library Reference Desk is staffed nearly all the hours that the library is open. The staff at the desk will be happy to help you find research tools on any business subject. For e-mail questions, direct your query to balib@u.washington.edu. For assistance by telephone, dial (206) 543-8012 during library hours.

For research guides on a wide variety of industries, products, companies, issues and topics, see the Team Librarian Consultation archives.

• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by class or program)      (Marketing Assignments)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by industry)      (Leisure Industry)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by title of assignment)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by academic quarter)
• Index to all Team Consultations and Research Guides      (Electronic Commerce)