Want Basic Information on Similar Products and How They Are Made?
Books at Sawyer Library that describe, in layperson's terms, how thing are made.
Gadgets and Necessities is "An Encyclopedia of Household Innovations" that describes anything from baby monitors to toasters. Also includes short profiles of innovative companies.
Subtitled "An Illustrated Guide to Product Manufacturing," How Products Are Made is a multi-volume set, also available as a website. We own the first two volumes as reference books. And the catalog will link you to the website.
Entries to this 2 volume set, CDs, Super Glue and Salsa, describe the history and manufacturing process of such products as M&M's and air conditioners. Info includes their design, raw materials, quality control, and future enhancements.
Did you know that we have an entire Library Guide on how things work and how products are produced?
See
How Things Work & How Products Are Made
eReference
- Gale Virtual Reference LibraryIncludes the many-volumed International Directory of Company Histories, the Encyclopedia of Small Business, multiple years of the Business Plans Handbook, and lots of encyclopedias and handbooks on all manner of non-business topics. Search across hundreds of reference books at once to get basic overviews and background information on a wide variety of topics.
When you are trying to get background information on a product, topic or process, it can be useful to start with eReference databases that allow you to search across the contents of many encyclopedias, handbooks and dictionaries at once. Here are some examples:
- Sage eReferenceWhile Sage specializes in the social sciences, they do publish in business areas and also have a keen interest in "Green" subjects, so this database might help in getting introductory readings in these types of topics.
- Access ScienceThis database contains the fully searchable content from McGraw-Hill's Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, 10th Edition, and a whole lot more. Good basic information on all matter of subjects. If you need to understand a particular process, this might help. And there are plenty of illustrations.
- Britannica Library Reference Center This link opens in a new windowMore reliable than Wikipedia, use this file for a quick look-up. A useful but very basic tool.
General Databases
- Academic Search Complete This link opens in a new windowA scholarly grab bag, ASC claims to be "the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 8,500 full-text periodicals, including more than 7,300 peer-reviewed journals." Most articles are academic, but some come from magazines, newspapers and other less scholarly sources. Covers almost any topic.
Besides business databases, we have many broad-based electronic resources that cover all kinds of topics. Remember that according to your topic, other specific discipline databases might be useful, like Medical/Science ones for energy supplements or solar technology.
- Academic OneFileWhile ASC above is from EBSCOhost, this file is from Gale (InfoTrac). Again, this is a broad-spectrum file of mostly academic journals in everything from Arts to Science. Although ASC and AOF have plenty of overlap, each has unique fulltext, too. So both are worth checking in most cases.
- MasterFILE Premier This link opens in a new windowAlso from EBSCOhost, this file is popular reading, not academic. "This multidisciplinary database provides full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals with full-text information dating as far back as 1975. Covering virtually every subject area of general interest." Full-text magazines include Popular Science and Popular Mechanics--the types of magazines that cover innovation.
- General OneFileHere is Gale's popular media mega-file: news and periodical articles on a wide range of topics: business, computers...environmental issues, health care, hobbies...art, politics, science, social science, sports, technology, and many general interest topics. Millions of full-text articles, many with images. Updated daily."
Looking for More Books?
There are many Library Catalog (OPAC) Subject Headings that will identify books held at Suffolk Libraries. Here are just a few:
Subject Guide
The Process of Design and Manufacture
"An in-depth study of the creative and manufacturing processes behind 50 contemporary domestic design objects. Chosen from around the world, they span furniture, lighting, tableware and textiles. The work of both long-established and emerging designers is featured, with each product selected for its significant use of new technology, unorthodox or complex production process, use of innovative materials (or traditional materials adapted in new and unexpected ways)."
Edited by well-known and well-respected experts, the two-volumes of Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (HF/E) in Consumer Product Design simplify the process of applying human factors and ergonomics principles to reducing risks of malfunction and the total life cycle cost. The books highlight the ever-increasing role of information technology, including digital imaging, video and other media, and virtual reality applications in consumer product design.
This handbook covers a wide range of manufacturing from casting to plastics to woodworking to assembly/fusion to finishing (heat treating) to processes for paper and fiber, textiles, chemicals, foods, and much more.