Business Information: Help and Resources are Closer than they Appear

Abstract

Libraries everywhere are faced with many challenges: shrinking physical spaces, decreasing budgets and increasing demand, just to name a few. Over the last few years, the State of Michigan has placed more of an emphasis on supporting and developing local businesses, including the recent addition of money for the Library of Michigan to acquire new databases for this community. While the addition of these tools is great, for many libraries, business resources (and the questions that come with using them) are sometimes tricky to understand which may lead to missed opportunities to connect with local businesses. When libraries can answer questions from local businesses, they have a tremendous opportunity to create partnerships with businesses in your community and showcase the value of the library to your local economy. This session will focus on the free services and electronic resources that are available to all library users in Michigan that are focused on the business community. Specifically, the presenters will focus on the newly licensed business resources and tools available through MeL and how best to use them to answer the questions that your local businessmen and women may have. Additionally, the presenters will talk about the expertise and additional resources that are available through the business libraries at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.