LibGuides: Business: San Diego Area

San Diego Technology Archive

San Diego Technology Archive
The San Diego Technology Archive (SDTA) is a digital collection that documents the history, formation, and evolution of the companies that formed the San Diego region's high-tech cluster, from its beginning in 1965. Materials include interviews with key executives and resarchers, company profiles, corporate family trees, timelines, and links to additional library resources. The collection highlights three or San Diego’s prominent business sectors: life sciences, software/information technology and telecommunications.

Books about San Diego Business History

Mining the Borderlands by Sarah E. M. Grossman
Call Number: PQ ebook
ISBN: 9781943859832
Publication Date: 2018
At the dawn of the twentieth century, the US-Mexico border was home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced industrial copper mines. This despite being geographically, culturally, and financially far-removed from traditional urban centers of power.... By integrating the history of technical expertise into the history of the transnational mining industry, this in-depth look at borderlands mining explains how American economic hegemony was established in a border region peripheral to the federal governments of both Washington, D.C. and Mexico City.

Images of America: a History of American Life in Images and Texts This collection features images and texts assembled by local community experts that attempts to portray everyday people, places and events in American local history. Drawn from the award-winning print series by Arcadia Publishing. Below are a few featured titles that focus on local business history.

Aviation in San Diego by Katrina Pescador; Alan Renga; San Diego Air and Space Museum
Call Number: Alexander Street Press ebook
ISBN: 9780738547596
Publication Date: 2007
For nearly a century, San Diego has been a hub of aviation development, air power, and flying adventure.... From Ryan to Consolidated, Curtiss to Lindbergh, and everything in between, Aviation in San Diego is the preeminent photographic record of flight in "America's Finest City."
San Diego's Fishing Industry by Kimber M. Quinney; Italian Historical Society of San Diego; Thomas J. Cesarini
Call Number: HD9458.S38 Q56, Geisel 6th fl.
ISBN: 9780738559926
Publication Date: 2009
San Diego has always attracted a rich diversity of immigrant groups. Between the 1880s and 1970s, many of these groups helped to create a strong and dynamic fishing industry that became a key component of the city's identity. The vivid stories and fascinating photographs in this volume recapture the energy and variety that were the hallmarks of San Diego's fishing industry--an industry that has left a deep multicultural imprint on today's city.
Pacific Southwest Airlines by Alan Renga; Mark E. Mentges
Call Number: Alexander Street Press ebook
ISBN: 9780738581125
Publication Date: 2010
With its low fares and friendly service, Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was one of the most successful regional airlines in American history. Although PSA is no longer in operation, its successful business model of low-priced, efficient service was copied by other airlines and today is considered the norm.
Consolidated Aircraft Corporation by Katrina Pescador; Mark Aldrich
Call Number: Alexander Street Press ebook
ISBN: 9780738559384
Publication Date: 2008
Founded by Reuben H. Fleet in 1923, Consolidated Aircraft Corporation (later Convair) became one of the most significant aircraft manufacturers in American history. For roughly 60 years, this prolific company was synonymous with San Diego.

Frequently Used Resources

BIOCOM San Diego
Regional association for the many biotechnology, medical device, medical equipment and bioagriculture companies in the San Diego area.
more...less...
Formerly the Biomedical Industry Council (BIC) and the San Diego Biocommerce Association (BIOCOM). The association sponsors sponsors an annual statewide conference, CalBioSummit, which serves as a legislative and business issues forum for the California biocommerce industry. BIOCOM also provides summaries of relevant legislative and public policy activities in C

Book of Lists (San Diego Business Journal)
The SDBJ compiles its weekly lists in an annual collection of the largest companies and local organizations. Current issue is in Geisel Library Reference Collection (HF3163.S38 S28), older versions are available back to 1986. HTML or PDF versions of the current weekly lists are in MasterFile Premier database. Online versions for other North American regional business news (Los Angeles, for example) are also available in Gale Business Insights and Regional Business News.(example: Orange County Book of Lists content is in RBN).

Rich's Business Directories for California
Search for biotech and high tech firms located in CA.
San Diego City Budget
Full text version of the current fiscal year of the SD city budget.
UC Departmental Allocations
UC Office of the President, Operating Budget Publications. Covers 1997/98- current.
UCSD Annual Financial Reports
1995-current
Uniworld Company Directories
This resource contains the online version of Foreign Firms Operating in the U.S., and U.S. Firms Operating Abroad, both which are great for job and internship hunters, or others seeking international company information. Search criteria can include geography, industry, size of company, and much more. For example, you can choose to search for companies with an office within San Diego that has a home base or subsidiaries in another country.

San Diego County Local Governments Search Engine (SD Govt)
Google custom search engine covering the government web sites of San Diego County (including cities, county, and SANDAG).

UCLA Anderson Forecast
This long-standing quarterly publication forecasts U.S. and California economies, that strives to be unbiased in its approach. Online back to 2011, and in print back to 1997. Partner publications from this site include:
- Allen Matkins’ California Commercial Real Estate Survey (which covers San Diego and the rest of the large metro areas of California)
- City Human Capital Index (which covers Los Angeles, the Bay Area and zip codes in California),
- Los Angeles City Monthly Employment Estimate.

General Sites of Local Interest

California Department of Consumer Affairs
This department's mission is to help Californians be careful consumers, and to protect them from unscrupulous and unqualified individuals.
Greater San Diego Business Association
"The Greater San Diego Business Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to building strength and prosperity in the lesbian and gay community ... and act[s] as a resource for those wanting to start a new business."
San Diego Workforce Partnership
Nine studies providing information on industry clusters in San Diego, with an with an emphasis on occupational growth, supply and demand, wages and skill requirements
Tijuana Economic Development Corporation Business Directory
Website of the Tijuana Economic Development Corporation, a non-profit organization fostering economic growth in the San Diego/Tijuana border region. Includes a categorized directory of local business contacts.

Special Resources: Regional "Books of Lists" & Business News Sources

Many North American regional business publications have list features in their weekly publications that are devoted to the top companies or organizations on a particular topic or industry, like top women-owned businesses, top accounting firms, largest employers in... (name a city)., etc.These weekly lists are compiled annually into a Book of Lists for a city or region.

There are two main publishers of these weeklies, and their contents are incorporated into at least one of two of our subscription resources, MasterFile Premier and Gale Business Insights. Southern CA local publications are listed below. You'll have to experiment to find similar publications in another region.

San Diego Business Journal
- 2024 SDBJ Book of Lists (Jan., 2024)
- latest rankings articles
- all recent SDBJ articles
Orange County Business Journal
- 2023 OCBJ Book of Lists (Jan. 2023)
- all recent OCBJ articles
Los Angeles Business Journal
- latest rankings articles
- all recent LABJ articles
San Fernando Valley Business Journal
- latest rankings articles
- all recent SFVBJ articles

Note: not all of the most recent BoL issues are available yet. They will be updated here as they become available. Use the "latest rankings articles" in the meantime.

Additional San Diego Business News Feeds

Daily News (Los Angeles) Good business news coverage of Los Angeles County and the San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles Times (1985-present)
Los Angeles Times (1881-1990)
San Diego Union Tribune 1984-present. Full text (but no images) of the Union-Tribune, and before the 1990 merger, of the separate San Diego Union and Evening Tribune. For page images, library has on microfilm1992-present and 1922-91.
San Diego Union (historical) Full-text pdf files of newspaper from 1898 - 1983

Research Help

Adele Barsh

Email Me

Contact:

Business & Entrepreneurship Librarian

UC San Diego Library

University of California, San Diego

9500 Gilman Dr. 0175R

La Jolla, CA 92093-0175

Subjects: Business