In the reference area, you will find indexes, bibliographies, encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, directories, and handbooks. We have the standard guides to magazine and newspaper articles, including the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, Magazine Index, Health Index, General Periodicals Index, National Newspaper Index, and the New York Times Index.Consumer product evaluations, current government information, automobile repair, health information, and local, county, state, and federal law are covered extensively. The library carries the white and yellow pages for Nassau, Suffolk, Manhatten, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island.

Brief questions can be answered over the telephone. Just call the library and ask for a reference librarian. Although time consuming research cannot be done by the reference staff, all patrons will be given assistance and guidance with any question or project they might have. No question is too trivial or difficult. All you have to do is ask. Questions beyond the scope of our collection or expertise will be forwarded to the reference section of the Suffolk Cooperative Library System, where back-up reference service will try to answer your question.

Business Resources

Do you have an upcoming interview with a company? You may need up-to-date information concerning company assets, CEO's service history, affiliations, and number of employees. We subscribe to many business and investment resources including Standard and Poor's Stock Guide, Stock Reports,and Register of Corporations, Moody's Value Line, Barron's, Dunand Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directoryof Corporate Affiliationsand The International Directory of Company Histories.

The library has access to financial and management information on over twelve thousand public companies throughDisclosure, A CD-ROM technology, which is available at the reference desk. The data from Disclosure is extracted fom annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Employment Information

The library has the basic career-related publications, such as the Encyclopedia osf Careers and the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook. In the library you will find career guides, books on job-finding techniques, and many books an composing resumes and cover letters. We subscribe to National Ad Search and the Wall Street Journal's National Business Employment Weekly. To help you keep up with Civil Service test announcements, we subscribe to the Chief, Federal Jobs Digest, and Suffolk County, New York State, and Unified Court Systems Civil Service Announcements. We also carry many of National Learning Corporation's practice test books. We also subscribe to the Sunday editions of various out-of-state newspapers as well as a microfiche collection called Help Wanted USA which provides additional help wanted ads from various cities across the country. The West Islip Public Library has been designated as Western Suffolk's Job Information Center. The Center has an exhaustive collection of materials on jobs and careers and you are eligible to use these materials at the center.

Consumer Information

Product evaluations can be obtained from a number of sources, including our Consumer Reports and Consumer Research Magazines. We have an extensive collection of consumer publications for individuals who are looking either to buy or sell a new or used car. We also own consumer materials that are specially geared for people who are in the market for VCR's, baby products, or computer hardware.