Notes from Collection Development

With economic success more important than ever to our community, Collection Development recently increased purchases of business and career related titles. These include finding a new career, networking, resume writing, interviewing skills, writing a business plan, e-business, business consulting and much more. Throughout the year, you will notice even more business books, career guides and college guides as buying more business titles will be emphasized in Collection Development!

Here are just a few new titles--

Borrowing Brilliance: The Six Steps to Business Innovation by Building on the Ideas of Others by David Kord Murray

PW Reviews 2009

There really is nothing new under the sun, says entrepreneur Murray. All good ideas are constructed out of already existing ones, and rather than viewing borrowing as theft, we should view it as a necessary even a desirable path to invention. Charles Darwin did it, as did George Lucas, Steve Jobs, Stephen King and a host of other innovators who knew how to take existing ideas and turn them into new answers to old problems. Murray draws heavily on his own experience and well-known successes, such as the evolution of the Walkman to the iPod, for example, to drive home his thesis, and even dips into the neurology of idea creation. The somewhat hashed-to-death point takes a more practical turn as Murray explains how the average organization can borrow successfully; his "Brilliantly Borrowed Brainstorming" system effectively lays out the steps, from identifying a good idea to adapting it to one's own uses. While somewhat repetitive, Murray's prescriptions are lucid and helpful, and this book should garner prime shelf space.

Bulletproof Your Job: 4 Simple Strategies to Ride Out the Rough Times and Come Out on Top at Work by Stephen Viscusi

Booklist Reviews 2008

"There's a tendency to scoff at all the work advice being offered, whether to recent college grads or to seasoned executives, including "look the part," "details are important," and "don't make waves." In this age of economic turbulence, headhunter-author (On the Job: How to Make It in the Real World of Work, 2001) Viscusi puts truth behind those clichés and turns his four bulletproof strategies into

a memorable mantra: be visible, be easy, be useful, be ready. Of course, in back of each of the four are a series of 50 tactics in total, all with proof-positive facts delivered via sidebars, such as "just so you know" and "true story" examples. Eat at your desk? Not a chance; move to the dining area. Unclear about the how-to's of a new task or position? Pick a mentor. Common sense infuses every chapter, as does the author's extraordinary attention to readability, including short paragraphs, millennial language, headlines that grab you, bullets, and final summaries. Your job is your most valuable asset, he says. So, too, might be this book."

Working World 101: The New Grad's Guide To Getting a Job by Bridget Graham

BookPage Reviews 2009

Working World 101: The New Grad's Guide to Getting a Job by Bridget Graham and Monique Reidy draws upon years of cumulative human resource experience to present a tight, no-nonsense how-to: how to move successfully from campus to corporation. After completing a personal and professional inventory, readers are ready to hone communication skills to create a self-confident, capable, poised new product: themselves. Communication is a key theme of the guide; it drives the preparation of a résumé and cover letter, the formation of a network, choice of dress and speech and the whole interview process. A handy list of online job search sites is included, as is advice on how best to use social networking sites like Facebook and more professional networking sites like LinkedIn. The authors are especially sensitive to generational challenges between Baby Boomer employers and ever-younger employees, and are quick to suggest ways to package differences advantageously.

Start Your Own Green Business: Your Step-by-step Guide to Success by Entrepreneur Press

This guide offers ideas, tips, and warnings for establishing a business as a green business. It explains how to choose eco-friendly means of production, get funding from green lenders, and establish an environmentally responsible business culture. Marketing, promotion, and advertising are also covered, from press releases to company websites, blogging, and television. Some of the examples of green businesses presented include Kettle Foods, Newman's Own Organics, Seventh Generation, and Patagonia. An appendix lists green resource websites, websites for the 22 green business examples used in the book, contacts for US government agencies and business associations, web sites of magazines, newspapers, and professional organizations, and web sites for office supplies. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)