• Annual reports:   See the Foster Business Library Corporate Annual Reports collection, with annual reports for over 800 companies, both foreign and domestic. The collection is located in twelve lateral files, under the sign Corporate Annual Reports, between the library's circulation and reference desks.

• Articles:   For access to millions of full text articles, try one of the full text article databases here.

• Atlases:   There are several atlases in the dictionary stand near the reference desk on the library's first floor.

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• Books:   The Foster Business Library General Stacks collection contains 70,000 business-related books, many of them focused on specific companies and industries. These books may be found by searching the UW Libraries Catalog. The UW Libraries Catalog may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, in the top left corner. New business books are added to the Foster Business Library each month; click here to see lists of new additions.

• Books not in the Foster Business Library:   Need a book that the UW Libraries does not own? Use the button in the upper menu to Search Summit. Summit is a mega-library catalog of selected higher education institutions in Washington and Oregon. Most of the items in Summit can be sent to the Foster Business Library for your use.

  To suggest that the Foster Business Library purchase a book, complete an online Purchase Request Form. To have the library borrow a book from another library, for your use, complete an online Interlibrary Borrowing Request Form at UWorld Express.

• Class websites:   To see the long list of class websites, go to Class Assignments and Web Sites on the Foster Business Library homepage.

• Coffee:   Available nearby at the Balmer Cafe or, a little farther away, the Burke Cafe. If you bring coffee into the library, be sure to do so only if the coffee is in a nonspillable container.

• Company information:   See the databases in the Foster Business Library Database Index for Company Information.

• Computers:   The Foster Business Library provides over fifty computer workstations for library research in its electronic reference area and in its adjoining library lab. Public computers do not offer word processing and spreadsheet but do include Word and Excel viewers so that documents can be printed. The library's more than forty Access+ computers offer Microsoft Office applications to authorized UW users with a UWNetID. Word processing and spreadsheet are also available in the Balmer Hall Computer Labs.

• Copiers:   The Foster Business Library has two self-service photocopiers and one copy card machine. The copy card dispenser and two photocopiers are located in an alcove near the stairs to the library's second floor, across from the library elevator.

• Country information:   See the databases in the Foster Business Library Database Index for Country Information.

• Course reserves:   See Course Reserves on the Foster Business Library homepage, under Library Services, in the top tool bar.

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• Databases:   The Foster Business Library offers over three dozen Business Databases on its homepage, as well as a Database Index by topic. Under Library Services, in the top toolbar, see Access Databases From Home for information about how to access these databases from off-campus.

• Dictionaries:   In addition to numerous Business Dictionaries in the Foster Business Library Reference Collection, there are also several general dictionaries including a very large one on the dictionary/atlas stand near the reference desk on the library's first floor and a smaller one on an easel atop the counters behind the Foster Business Library reference desk. The reference collection also includes the more portable American Heritage dictionary of the English language (call number PE1628 .A623 2000) and the Random House Webster's college dictionary (call number PE 1628 .R28 1995). There are also dictionaries available online on the Foster Business Library homepage, in the left menu, under Reference Tools; go to Dictionaries - Language.

• Diskettes:   The Foster Business Library reference desk offers loaner diskettes for use within the library. Diskettes may be purchased at the HUB University Bookstore branch.

• Earphones:   Earphones for use with the Foster Business Library's computers may be borrowed from the library's circulation desk with a UW ID card.

• Electronic journals:   Under Periodical Lists, see the long list of Electronic Journals in Business and Economics.

• Electronic mail:   E-mail can be accessed on all the computers in the library with the exception of PC's #19 and #20 (which are devoted to non-networkable databases).

• Emergency exits:   Emergency exits from the library are noted in the floor plans available, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, for the first floor and second floor of the Foster Business Library; look for the green arrows. Non-emergency use of these exits sets off alarms and summons the University Police.

• Encyclopedias:   Other than business encyclopedias in the Reference Collection, there are no general encyclopedias in the Foster Business Library. For general encyclopedias online, go to the Foster Business Library homepage, in the left menu, under Reference Tools; see Encyclopedias.

• Ethernet connections:   Most of the study tables and carrels in the Foster Business Library offer fast ethernet connections as well as power. Locations without data or power connections are labelled, usually inside the black lid on table tops or on the sides of carrels. The library also has four wireless hubs. Bring your own Ethernet cord; the library no longer has any loaner cables.

• Fax:   The public fax facilities nearest to the Foster Business Library are down in the Communications Building basement, in room B-045. This location handles telex, mailgrams, international cables and facsimiles.

• Floor plans:   There are floor plans available, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, for the first floor and second floor of the Foster Business Library.

• Food and drink:   The Foster Business Library adheres to the UW Libraries' Food, Drink, and Tobacco Policy which prohibits eating in all public spaces in the University of Washington Libraries. Beverages are allowed only in covered, spill-proof, reusable containers, except in the following units that prohibit all food and drink. Food and drink may be consumed outside the Foster Business Library entrance where a bench is provided and of course in the Balmer Cafe, Undergraduate Commons, and MBA Lounge in Balmer Hall.

• Frequently asked questions:   See the Foster Business Library Business & Economics FAQ, with over 600 questions and answers.

• Group study rooms:   The Foster Business Library has eight Group Study Rooms, of various sizes, with seating for groups from four to ten people; bring your UW ID card to the Foster Business Library circulation desk to check out a key to a room. Group study rooms may be reserved in advance, in person, at the Foster Business Library circulation desk, by phone at 206-543-4360, or by e-mail to balib@u.washington.edu.

• Hours:   See Foster Business Library hours here.

• Journals:   The Foster Business Library subscribes to about 800 business periodicals and newspapers; see the list of titles in the Periodicals Collection and in the Foster Business Library Newspapers.

• Laptop ports:   Most seating in the library has power and data connections as well as laptop ports. Four wireless hubs were also installed in late summer 2002 for internet connectivity.

• Librarians:   The Foster Business Library includes four librarians with a combined total of over fifty years of experience in business libraries. Their offices are located along the north wall of the library's first floor.

• Library lab:   The Foster Business Library offers an 18-terminal library lab for library research. This room is located on the first floor of the library, along the west wall.

• Lockers:   The Foster Business Library does not have any lockers for rent. The nearest lockers for rent are in Balmer Hall, operated by the student-run Undergraduate Management Consulting Association. See their Balmer Hall Lockers website for information about renting lockers.

• Lost and found:   Lost and found items in the Foster Business Library are turned in at the library's circulation desk. Every two weeks, lost items are forwarded to the HUB Information Desk at the Husky Student Union building.

• New books:   The Foster Business Library adds new business books to its collections each month. For a list of additions to the collections, see the library's New Books In Business. To suggest a book for addition to the Foster Business Library collections, go to the online Purchase Request Form.

• Newspapers:   The Foster Business Library subscribes to eight business newspapers, located in the northwest corner of the library's first floor.

• Online catalog:   The UW Libraries Catalog can be found in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Use the Modify or Limit buttons to limit your search to the Foster Business Library's collections. There is also, near the Foster Business Library circulation desk, a terminal devoted to the UW Libraries Catalog.

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• Paper cutter:   There is a public paper cutter in the photocopier alcove near the elevator on the first floor of the library.

• Paper punch:   There is a public three-hole paper punch in the photocopier alcove near the elevator on the first floor of the library.

• Pens and pencils:   Forgot your pen or pencil? The Foster Business Library can offer you a loaner, culled from the many pens and pencils left in the library almost every day.

• Printing:   Self-service printing is available in the Foster Business Library on two printers. Payment is only by copy cards, available from a dispenser near the library's two self-service photocopiers.

• Purchase requests:   To suggest the addition of a book to the Foster Business Library collection, complete the online Purchase Request Form.

• Reference desk:   The Foster Business Library reference desk is located in the center of the library's first floor, under a sign that says Reference. During most of the hours that the library is open, this desk is staffed by one of the library's four librarians or by a trained graduate reference assistant currently enrolled in the Information School on campus. If no one is at the desk, consult one of the four librarian offices along the north wall of the library's first floor. The direct line to the reference desk is (206) 543-8012. Questions may also be submitted electronically to balib@u.washington.edu.

• Research guides:   See Business Research Guides on the Foster Business Library homepage; for a free printed copy of one of these guides, just ask at the library's reference desk.

• Reserves:   See Course Reserves on the Foster Business Library homepage.

• Restrooms:   Restrooms are located in the hallway outside the Foster Business Library entrance.

• Scanner:   A Canon scanner is available in the Foster Business Library, attached to PC #167, near the microfilm cabinets along the south wall of the electronic reference area. Scanners are also available, for Business School students, at the BA Computer Labs, at the west end of the fourth floor of Balmer Hall.

• Security:   The University of Washington is one of the safest campuses in the U.S. The Foster Business Library has seen relatively little theft--though the thefts have been serious to those who have suffered them (such as laptops). See Campus Safety and Crime Statistics. Please report any thefts or security problems to the Foster Business Library circulation desk. See also Reporting a Crime or Accident. The UW Libraries also has a Policy on Libraries Disruptions.

• Stapler:   There are staplers at both the circulation and reference desks in the Foster Business Library.

• Suggestions:   The Foster Business Library has an online Suggestion Box as well as a traditional Suggestions box, near the book return slot, on the library's circulation desk.

• Team consultations:   See Team Librarian Consultations on the Foster Business Library homepage for information on how to sign up for a consultation as well as the Team Consultation Archive of more than two hundred consultations from the past two years. There are also indexes to this archive by Industry, Class or Program, by Name of Assignment and by Quarter.

• Telephones:   There is a pay telephone outside the Foster Business Library, near the water fountain.

• Video:   The Foster Business Library has no video players nor any videos in its collections, with the exception of videos placed on reserve by instructors. Videos may be viewed in the Music Library and at the UW Libraries Media Center (in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library); in the afternoons and evenings, there are empty Balmer classrooms, many with TVs and VCRs.

• Water:   There are two water fountains outside the entrance to the Foster Business Library, near the restroom entrances.

• Wall Street Journal:   This newspaper is part of the Foster Business Library's Newspaper Collection and arrives each business day at about 10:30AM. To access the Wall Street Journal prior to 10:30AM, go to the Foster Business Library database National Newspapers for the Wall Street Journal.

• Web sites:   See Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.

• Wireless:   The Foster Business Library was set up for Wireless access in late summer of 2002. Using 802.11b technology, wireless permits an 11Mb per second connection to the Internet without a wired connection. Performance is on the same order as shared ethernet.