Foster Business Library


After Graduation



After Graduation:

After graduation from the University of Washington, students move into a different category of library user:   visitor (unless they continue here at the university as a student, faculty or staff member). Graduating students are not usually deleted from the student registry upon commencement; they may continue to have their usual student access for a limited period after graduation.

Here is an overview of Services Available to Visitors to the UW Libraries:

Services generally available FREE to visitors:

  • In-library use of most materials;
  • Publications and handouts available at service desks, describing the Libraries' units, services and collections;
  • Limited access to library computers; see Workstations for Visiting Researchers;
  • Brief reference assistance.
Services generally available for a FEE to visitors:
Services usually NOT AVAILABLE to visitors:
  • Research services including extended reference, mediated database searching, training, and document delivery;
  • Interlibrary loan;
  • Use of some reserve and media material;
  • Most databases and other resources limited to the current University of Washington students, faculty and staff;
  • Team librarian consultations (though you may access the Team Consultation Archives);
  • Use of group study rooms;
  • Use of student e-mail terminals and Access+ computers.

Foster Business Library Databases:

Accessing business databases is very easy in the Foster Business Library where there are three dozen public workstations with the Foster Business Library website as their homepage. Under Business Databases on this homepage are listed the most commonly used business databases. There are additional Business-Related Databases listed below this list. In addition, there are specialized business databases on two workstations that cannot be accessed from the Foster homepage; click here for a list of all Foster databases, including which Foster Business Library databases are available in local public libraries (as well as some databases not available in the Foster Business Library which are available in some area public libraries). For more information about which of the three dozen Foster business databases to use, click here. There is also access, from the workstations in the Foster Business Library, to All Libraries' databases.

Accessing these databases from outside the Foster Business Library is easy anywhere on campus. From the University of Washington homepage, click on the left menu selection for Libraries; from the Information Gateway, go to About the Libraries and to Hours & Libraries to get to the Foster Business Library homepage. Many local public and academic libraries have an excellent array of online business databases that may be accessed from home or office with your public library card number or card number and local public library PIN number. For more information, try some of these websites (whose online catalogs may also be a good source for books not in the U.W. collections):

Database Restrictions:

Most of the databases on the Foster Business Library homepage may be used in the library or and in the libraries on the Seattle, Bothell, and Tacoma campuses. The major exceptions are these databases that are limited by very strict vendor contracts to current UW students, faculty, and staff:

  • Bloomberg:    Detailed up-to-the-minute and historical stock, stock market and company financial data.
  • CorpTech EXPLORE:    Company profiles for more than fifty thousand U.S. high technology firms.
  • Datastream:    Detailed U.S. and international securities and economic data. (Not currently available)
  • Forrester Research:    Provides reports 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.
  • RIA Checkpoint:    Tax and accounting database.
  • VentureXpert Web:    Venture capital database.

Database Availability Summary:

This list is accurate to the date of this document (which can be found in the footer) but is subject to change as libraries switch databases and database vendors change database names and content. Library codes, used in the table below, are for the King County Library System (KCLS), the Sno-Isle Regional Library (SIRL), and the Seattle Public Library (SPL).

Database Availability
Available On Campus
To Visitors
Available In Some
Public Libraries?
Available In
What Libraries?
ABI/Inform DatelineNo--
ABI/Inform GlobalYesKCLS, SPL
ABI/Inform Trade & IndustryYesKCLS, SPL
Associations UnlimitedYesKCLS, SIRL, SPL
China Data OnlineNo--
ComtradeNo--
Conference BoardNo--
DatastreamNo--
EBSCO Business Source CompleteNo--
EconLitNo--
Economic Literature DatabaseNo--
EIU OnlineYesKCLS
Expanded Academic ASAPYesKCLS, SIRL, SPL
FactivaYesKCLS
Forrester ResearchNo--
Gale Virtual Reference LibraryYesKCLS, SPL
Global Financial DataNo--
Hoovers OnlineYesSPL
InfoTech TrendsNo--
InvestextYesKCLS, SIRL, SPL
Kompass No--
Lexis-Nexis Academic No--
MarketResearch.com Academic----
Mediamark ReporterNo--
Mergent OnlineYesSPL
MorningstarYesKCLS
National NewspapersYesKCLS, SPL
OCLC WorldcatNo--
Oxford ReferenceYesKCLS, SPL
ProQuest DatabasesYes (in part)KCLS, SIRL, SPL (in part)
ProQuest DissertationsNo--
ProQuest NewspapersYes (in part)KCLS, SIRL, SPL (in part)
PsycARTICLESNo--
PsycInfoNo--
Public Affairs Information ServiceNo--
Reference USAYesKCLS, SIRL, SPL
Research LibraryYesKCLS, SPL
RIA CheckpointNo--
Simmons Choices IIINo--
Social Sciences Citation IndexNo--
Sociological Abstracts/SocioFileNo--
Source OECDNo--
Stat USAYesKCLS
Statistical UniverseNo--
VentureXpert WebNo--
Washington State NewstandYesKCLS, SPL
World Bank GDF OnlineNo--
World Bank WDI OnlineNo--
Help:

The Foster Business Library Reference Desk is staffed most of the hours that the library is open. The staff at the desk will be happy to help find information in the Libraries' databases and to answer questions about database availability. The telephone number for the reference desk is (206) 543-8012. Questions are also welcome via e-mail to balib@u.washington.edu.

See also the Foster Business Library's Business & Economics FAQ, and, in particular, the section for Business Databases.


20 June 2002; updated 28 December 2007.   Peter Stevens, Business Librarian, stevens@u.washington.edu