Susan Crain is a strategic planning consultant and was corporate communications manager for the CMD Group, Norcross, Georgia.

As we approach the millennium, information overload is the norm, and discovering real timesaving, valuable information tools is no easy task. If locating building products is one of your time-consuming chores, look no further. First Source can be your first choice.

First Source for Products is a comprehensive, up-to-date compendium of building products and manufacturers in the construction industry. Published by Architects' First Source--a CMD Group company and APPA strategic alliance partner--the resource not only identifies products and their manufacturers, it is also complete with mailing, e-mail, and website addresses as well as telephone and fax numbers. Professionally written, concise product information features color photographs that illustrate the products and their applications.

In addition to the preliminary product information found in First Source, Architects' First Source publishes SPEC-DATA and MANU-SPEC on behalf of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI), a strategic alliance partner of both APPA and CMD Group. SPEC-DATA presents technical details about manufacturers' products such as composition, basic uses, limitations, installation, warranty, maintenance, cost, and availability. The uniformity of the ten-part format makes it easy to compare products and saves time in extracting the facts from conventional product literature or catalogs.

The companion MANU-SPEC documents use a three-part SectionFormat¬ to present manufacturers proprietary specifications. These specifications are complete and can be placed directly into construction documents. The data is compatible with three versions of Microsoft Word¿ and two versions of WordPerfect¿, making it easy to download and edit into specifications. First Source partnerships with MASTERSPEC (from the American Institute of Architects) and SPECTEXT (from the National Institute of Building Sciences) assure compatibility to match the specification styles used to produce project documents.

Together, SPEC-DATA, MANU-SPEC, and First Source for Products make up a single solution for product information to help users at every step of the product selection. SPEC-DATA is distributed in print exclusively to the members of CSI. However, both SPEC-DATA and MANU-SPEC are available on the Internet and CD-ROM versions of First Source to all members of the building team. So with all of this information in one easy place, why look further? First Source should be your first choice for product selection and specification.

Why should First Source be your first choice?

• It's formatted.
  All of the information that appears in First Source, SPEC-DATA, and MANU-SPEC follows a standardized format, making it easy for you to compare and evaluate products, side by side. You don't have to search for where one manufacturer places warranty information in a brochure versus another. It's all right in front of you--in a recognizable, easy-to-use format.
• It's written for professionals by professionals.
  The product information that appears in First Source and in CSI's companion products, SPEC-DATA and MANU-SPEC, are written by professional architects and specifiers with your needs in mind. This information is not marketing hype from a manufacturer's marketing department. It's valuable product information, technical data, performance information and other details assembled by professional specifiers and architects, giving you the information you need to select and specify products for your facilities.
• It's comprehensive.
  First Source is assembled through the unique partnership with another CMD Group company, Manufacturers' Survey Associates (MSA). Manufacturers' Survey Associates is a company that performs quantity survey and take-offs on behalf of manufacturers and their representatives. While gathering details from plans of thousands of commercial construction jobs each year, MSA surveyors collect the names of the most actively specified products and building product manufacturers. These products and manufacturers are then listed in the trade name and manufacturer indices of First Source. In total, this index contains more than 20,000 of the most actively specified building products from more than 9,400 manufacturers.
  "Excellent resource"--Iowa State University
  "Fantastic Publication"--University of Florida
  "Very good book for quick ideas. To date, I have found everything I have needed"--Old Dominion University
• It's a book, a website, and a CD-ROM.
  No matter your preference, First Source for Products is available at your fingertips. When the publishers of First Source began producing their publication, they set out to create a desktop reference that could be used by all of the members of the building team--owners, facilities managers, designers, specifiers, engineers, and more. The purpose: to create an accessible, easy-to-use source that would allow equal access to the same information.
  As technology has progressed, so has First Source. First published in a book format in 1992, First Source "leap-frogged" CD-ROM technology and launched in 1996 First Source Online (www.afsonl.com), one of the first, most comprehensive Internet websites featuring building product information. This year, First Source will be published on CD-ROM for the first time. In addition to all of the information found in the book and on the website, the CD-ROM will also feature cost information from RS Means that can be unlocked through the purchase of a key code (contact RS Means at 800-334-3509 for more information).
• It's available to APPA members--AT NO CHARGE.
  All of the First Source products are available to the building team at no charge. As one of the many benefits of your APPA membership, you are able to receive a print version of First Source for Products. To request your copy, simply access First Source Online (www.afsonl.com) and select "Receive the Book." Or call 800-395-1988 and ask for Distribution. Be sure to mention that you are an APPA member to qualify.