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Title:
Super Searchers on Wall Street - Top Investment Professionals Share Their Online Research Secrets
Review:
"Sounds like a cross between a computer game and an Enid Blyton novel"
remarked a friend. Although there could be room for a spin-off cartoon
("Supersearchers to the rescue! Planet saved weekly by quartet of
teenage infopros with their cute-but-deadly pets!") at the moment the
Super Searchers series consists of interviews with collections of
information professionals.
In this case, as the title says, it is North American specialists in
investment information. Ten people (one per chapter) are asked similar
questions. For example, do they have tips on searching SEC data; how
do they stay up to date; are some investment sources more reliable,
what does their job entail? In addition, there is an index, a useful
glossary of US investment terminology and a list of 242 sources. There
is an online version of this list freely available at
(bookmark it
now!).
As with the other Super Searchers books, the interest comes from
reading about the interviewees' advice on search strategy and sources.
You may also get some background about a searcher whose writing or
website you admire. In my case, I was interested to learn more about
Gary Klein (business librarian at Willamette University), who it turns
out was making money on the stock markets from a tender age.
The interviewees come from a variety of backgrounds and institutions,
which provides some contrast. For example, investment magazine editor
and columnist Tish Williams says that she finds "almost all the
information I need on the Web" (p48). "I want to be able to just type
in what I need at a URL and get what I need quickly" (p49). However,
others point out problems with free web-based material. Klein
highlights the dubious nature of advice on bulletin boards. Martha
DiVittorio, Information Services Manager at Oliver Wyman, emphasises
that her time is billed to clients, so a quick priced search may be
cheaper than a lengthy "free" web search.
A key point that comes through is to check and cross check data,
wherever it comes from, and to look for clear statements about exactly
what is included and how the data has been manipulated.
This book is definitely worth getting if you regularly need to find US
company and investment data. Those doing investment work in other
countries will also find advice on strategy and source types
interesting, though when it comes to detail, there is little about the
non-US scene. If you want to work in this area, or teach those that
do, then the interviews have value as case studies. Others will
probably not see the book as a must-have, because of its specialist
nature and US bias.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Sheila Webber <s.webber@sheffield.ac.uk> is a lecturer in the
Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. She
has recently relocated and updated her sites on *Information literacy*
(now at <http://dis.shef.ac.uk/literacy/>) and *Marketing of
information* (now at <http://dis.shef.ac.uk/sheila/marketing/>).
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