People are always surprised when I tell them that their local public library is so much more than a place for the latest John Grisham or Eric Jerome Dickey novel. I love seeing their astonished reactions when I mention that we also have resources and services for people that want to start a small business, those who are looking for a job or those who want to research alternative careers. Our Business Reference section at the Downtown Lansing Library is full of resources to help you do market and industry research, company research, business plan preparation, research for your financial investments, career research and much, much more.
We also continually explore new ways of making business resources even more accessible and will be offering eReference books very soon! eReference books are electronic versions of print Reference books and have several advantages over their print counterparts. They are accessible to all library card holders through the library’s website which means they are available 24/7 and not just when the library is open. This also means they will be available at any Capital Area District Library location and no longer just the Downtown Lansing Library. Additionally, they are searchable in much the
same way one might search a database. So instead of grappling with the index of a print resource, you can do a keyword search to find exactly what you want.
Below are common questions I frequently receive about what business resources are available at the library.
Q: I have to write a business plan and am wondering if there are any examples at the library that I can use to get started?
A: In the Business Reference section we have a series of books called the Business Plans Handbook. There are 12 volumes and each book contains sample business plans written by real small business owners. These sample business plans were successfully used to obtain funding and will serve as great examples for you.
Q: My banker has reviewed my business plan, and told me that it is incomplete. I need to do more market research and am looking for demographics for Ingham County. Are there any resources at the library?
A: There are several resources in the Business Reference section of the library that will provide many types of demographics for Ingham County. We subscribe to a great database called Business Decision. This tool provides demographic reports by county or zip code, as well as for specific sites (for instance a geographic area surrounding a specific address). It will prepare specialized reports such as “Retail Goods and Services Expenditures”, “Demographic and Income Profiles”, and “Market Profiles” and the links to the reports can be emailed right to you. It also is possible to get future population projections.
Business Decision is accessible through the Capital Area District Library’s website www.cadl.org. Click on “Research Tools” in the menu on the left. Then click on “Business” and you will see the link for Business Decision.
We also have two very good print resources that provide demographic data by zip code. These will provide you with more detail than county level data but they are still very worthwhile to browse: 1.) Market Profile Analysis by Dun & Bradstreet and 2.) Community Sourcebook of Zip Code Demographics by ESRI.
Don’t spin your wheels! Let a trained librarian help you find what you need for FREE and you’ll be able to get your work done that much faster.
Elizabeth Kudwa is the Business Reference Librarian at the Capital Area District Library located at 401 S. Capitol Avenue in Lansing, MI. Contact her at 517-589-9400 or by e-mail at kudwae@cadl.org.
