This week we're going to take a look at three printed stock information products.
The first is Trendline: Current Market Perspectives, a monthly publication that we have in our magazine section. The cost is $655 per year. It includes quick 1/6 page snapshot summaries of about 2400 stocks, plus charts such as the 70 best and worst performing and fastest growing stocks for the month, top yielding stocks, best industry performers, etc. It also includes a stock and industry comparator which shows price changes in companies' stock by industry.
The second is another S & P stock publication--Stock Reports which gives more information (a full page of tiny print) on approximately 3000 stocks, but it is only updated quarterly, and does not have the ranking and comparison charts. The cost is a whopping $4,185 per year.
The third is Value Line (not an S & P product) which has information similar to S & P Stock Reports on about 3500 stocks. The regular and small and mid-cap together cost $1,047.
So, I guess the question is, what do we need in the way of printed stock information? I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.
11 comments:
I’d say we’re spending way too much money on these sources. When you consider how much data investors can get on the web, it’s not surprising that the number of investors using our sources has dwindled to a few regulars. Yahoo Finance, for example, gives comparable stock performance and income data, as well as company profiles, insider trading data, historical dividend and stock split information, and executive salaries. Value Line and S&P’s offer the recommendations of their “experts”, but you can also get that sort of help from Yahoo’s stock reports.
Of the three sources, Value Line (both editions) is the only one I’d recommend keeping, if only because more patrons ask for it than ask for any other single print reference source. I think it’s a must-have, and the price seems reasonable.
As for the S&P products—
I don’t have a feel for how many people take Current Market Perspectives off the magazine shelves, but, considering the price tag, I'd suggest dropping the subscription and using the “will anyone notice?” test. The Stock Reports are asked for from time to time. And I sometimes suggest to people that they use them as an alternative or complement to Value Line. But, at $4,000+/year, I’d say it’s time to wean ourselves from it. If anyone complains, we can show them all the other sources they can use to get this information, including Value Line, Yahoo, Factiva, and OneSource. Imagine what we could buy with the money saved!
Capital Changes Reporter, anyone? ;)
GS says: One of the problems I have with evaluating business resources is that I don’t know enough about investing to really be able to use them properly. Many times I have a hard time determining which one would answer the question best and just show everything to the patron in the hopes that he/she knows what to look for. Value Line is a known name that patrons do request. I don’t think that it is readily available at other libraries and I think we should keep it until or unless folks stop asking for it. For Standard and Poor’s Stock Reports I would be curious to see how many times recently it has been checked in for the inhouse count. I haven’t been asked for it by name for some time now and didn’t realize it was so expensive. I could part with it. Trendline. Hmmm. I think this one should be cataloged and put in the Business and Law Collection the same way that the medical periodicals are with the Consumer Health section. Then maybe we would remember that we own it and can show it to patrons. Maybe patrons would then use it. I must confess I forget we have it. But if the information is indeed found elsewhere for free, this title could go in favor of something else we currently need more (such as newspaper archives access).
Catherine mentioned some of the many online places to find business and investment info. I think we should make a bookmark, along the lines of the reading lists, that lists our resources and also websites to be used in place of print titles we don’t have. That way we could have a visual reminder of what we have and what we should be encouraging people to take a look at.
JB says: For Standard and Poor’s Stock Reports I would be curious to see how many times recently it has been checked in for the inhouse count. Jane, just reporting in that the current issue (dates July/August but which happens to have been added on September 9) has not been used in house even once. In fact, all year there has not been one inhouse use of this title in your 2008 spreadsheets.
Trendline. Hmmm. I think this one should be cataloged and put in the Business and Law Collection the same way that the medical periodicals are with the Consumer Health section. Then maybe we would remember that we own it and can show it to patrons. Let's do it!
Just a moment ago, a gentleman came to the desk and asked for the S&P Stock Reports specifically, and was also lamenting about the absence of more Moodys products.
I agree with something Gayle said, " I think we should make a bookmark, along the lines of the reading lists, that lists our resources and also websites to be used in place of print titles we don’t have. That way we could have a visual reminder of what we have and what we should be encouraging people to take a look at."
Google Finance also offers useful financial advice. For stock reports one only has to enter the name of the company if the symbol is unknown. A list pops up to offer choices. Current stories also appear at links on the company page as well as industry commentary. In my experience, Value Line is still used by the faithful - who will one day fade away. Until then I think we should keep it but consider eliminating the others because of the net offerings.
For me, Value Line is a keep simply because of the number of patrons that use it. S&P I would pass on--as noted, the same information is found there as in some other sources and it does not appear to get as much play.
Trendline provides unique information--trendlines, monthly best and worst, and growth and yield information. I like and use this (for myself, never used as a librarian). I think it actually is worth the price, but only if someone other than myself uses it.
I like Gayle's suggestion that we put together a list of sources for finding various kinds of investment information. I was already planning to expand our business links (which are now focused entirely on small business) to include investment sites, and rename the category "Business & Investment". If anyone has sites they think should be included, please let me know. Once we have the links, we can transfer them to a printed bookmark.
In the meantime, NYPL Science, Industry, & Business Library has put together a fantastic online guide called "Prospecting for Business Information". Module 5 (http://www.nypl.org/research/sibl/pbi2/mod5.html) covers stocks. One source they link to for more information is Investopedia (http://www.investopedia.com/university/). Both the SIBL site and Investopedia can help those of us who feel uncomfortable fielding investment questions get up to speed.
Deanna says: I use Trendline: Current Market Perspectives faithfully. It is easier for me to follow than--Stock Reports and Value Line. However, I have seen others reading Value Line.
Trendline is really a unique product and there is not a free source for similar information on the web. I am happy to hear I am not the only person using it.
Some wonderful business/investing pathfinders can be found via Rutgers Libraries here:
http://www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/econ/econdata.shtml
Some of the items are Rutgers restricted (clearly noted), but most are free web resources.
I think it is a no brainer that we should drop S&P Stock Reports, which I have done. The subscription runs out 3/09, which means that we will get the Nov/Dec 08, Jan/Feb 09, and maybe the Mar/April 09.
Trendlines I plan to keep for another year, since the information here is unique. Instead of cataloging, which will cause a delay in it's getting to us, I will put it with Value Line and Morningstar behind the desk. So when patrons ask for those items, we can point out Trendlines as well.
And in answer to Ji Hae's question about what we are going to do with the money we are saving by dropping the Stock Reports (and the other stuff we have dropped over the past year), I'll see how much money I have left at the end of the year, and prepay some big ticket items that we are keeping, for example the NYT Archives. That way, even with budget cuts, we will be assured of having them.
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