small business Archives | Page 2 of 2 | Gale Blog: Library & Educator News

Help Them Build a Better Business

June 17, 2021August 2, 2017

In the U.S., there are 28.8 million small businesses, accounting for 54 percent of all sales reports the Small Business Administration. Across the country, public libraries are supporting entrepreneurship as a core mission and are increasingly serving as vital members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The public endorses this approach: A 2015 Pew Research Center survey … Read more

Small Business Resource Center Enhanced Experience Now Available

June 15, 2017October 25, 2016

New enhancements now available in Small Business Resource Center (SBRC). You and your users can experience an easy-to-browse interface mapped to four key business stages—plan, fund, start, and manage—plus, new content, features, and enhanced functionality.

Enhancements for the current small business owner, as well as the aspiring entrepreneur
SBRC users are now able to access the most popular features of leading Gale products, including:

Integration with G Suite for Education tools, including Gmail, Drive, Docs, and more
Highlights and notes to select and annotate important text to view, print, or export
Improved translation with text translation in 23 languages and platform translation in 34
ReadSpeaker text-to-speech technology to hear the article read out loud and download the audio file to take with them on their phone or other mobile device.
Mobile-optimized display and improved user experience on all devices
Citation Tools that generate APA, MLA, and Chicago Style citations in the most recent format

The same great content…and then some
SBRC brings together hundreds of sample business plans, small business journals, and resources for many aspects of business: accounting, HR, management, marketing, taxes, and more. Content now includes a wide range of media and sources:

eBook Search Tips for Small Business Researchers

February 26, 2018September 27, 2016

Many users come to the library for small business support, especially at the ideation stage as they investigate options and resources for developing a business plan, identify funding sources and research other start-up activities.

A great way to connect local entrepreneurs with business eBooks is to create a custom subcollection or search widget, linked directly from your library’s business resources page. These technique shortcuts a search of the A-Z list of databases and provides additional paths to your valuable content.

Midlife Crisis? Open a Business

August 11, 2016August 3, 2016

By Holly Hibner

Business reference: librarians either love it or hate it. Thankfully, Gale’s Small Business Resource Center make’s it easy for us. Seriously – if you haven’t looked at SBRC recently, do yourself a favor and check it out. You’ll thank me later.

My husband and two business partners recently decided that what they really should do for their midlife crisis is open a brewery. He couldn’t just buy a Corvette – he decided to open a small business. He (and both partners) are engineers, so they don’t have a lot of experience opening or running a business. Gale’s Small Business Resource Center came to their rescue. (Well, my rescue if I’m being honest. Who do you think did a lot of the research for them?)

Understanding Community Goals Leads to Success for Libraries and Communities – A post from the 2016 Library of the Year

May 23, 2019June 7, 2016

By Leah Sewell, Communications Editor, Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Have you ever been on the other line of a survey call? I haven’t, personally, but I’ve often wondered if I would be a willing participant. Perhaps in the midst of a particularly juicy book, soaking up one-on-one time with my fast-growing 9-year-old or closely watching a new recipe simmer, what would compel me to answer the phone, but also to converse with a researcher for an indeterminate spell? Well, for one thing, I’d pretty much drop everything and let dinner burn to gab with any stranger, on the phone or otherwise, when the topic is libraries.

You see, in my career as the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Communication Editor, I am enamored with the “public” part of the public library. How does the public feel about our services? How will they react to a minor or a major change? How can we woo them, engage them, help them feel a part the community through literacy and learning, and subsequently change their lives for the better?

My library is focused on the public and the public good. It’s asking the right questions, discovering people’s goals and needs and assisting them so they can reach them. Ultimately, it’s about making a difference in the community by working with our fellow citizens to make their lives better. That’s a good chunk of the reason why we’re the Library Journal / Gale, a part Cengage Learning 2016 Library of the Year. We have our ears to the ground.

When the 2016 Pew Research Center report, Libraries at the Crossroads, was released in September 2015, I wondered about the people on the other end of those cell phones and land lines. Those individuals that Pew cites variously as “a share of Americans” or “a majority of Americans,” or “low-income Americans” are real individuals with busy lives, loved ones and their own dinners to prepare. Yet, they all sat a spell to gab about libraries.

8 Ways To Give Local Businesses An Edge

January 25, 2016

Who Needs Business School? The Hidden Startup Resources at your Local Library

Posted on January 25, 2016

These robust assets allow libraries to replace multiple product subscriptions with one affordable resource your users will return to time and again for business information. Small business owners can compile a variety of reports—standard and custom—that will help them make informed decisions. DemographicsNow: Business and People helps boost your local economy by providing:

1. Customer upload and data blending — Users can obtain Census block-group demographic data, maps, and more on their actual customers. Other eyeopening data is also available for B2B businesses.

Entrepreneurs Lack the Resources Necessary to Start Successful Businesses

January 5, 2016December 2, 2015

Librarians can find themselves in difficult positions when budding entrepreneurs, in search of answers that may determine the fate of their businesses, rush into the library. Steven Assarian, a business librarian at Grand Rapids Public Library, remembers well the day he found himself in such a situation. “An entrepreneur obviously interested in serving tourists came in and asked very specifically whether a particular town was a resort town,” Assarian recalled.

Not only is it Assarian’s job to provide consultation for entrepreneurs in need of business plans, but he’s also responsible for teaching business research techniques to classes of between 10-20 people. The ability to locate and use relevant information during the formation of a startup is a determining factor in whether the business will succeed. The pressure on librarians like Assarian to link entrepreneurs with current and rich data can be great.

“Usually these are people who really need help,” Assarian said. “They just don’t know what’s available or where to begin the process.”

GVRL Pleases Patrons, Young and Old, in Santa Clara County Library District

April 29, 2015March 30, 2015

Lora Cokolat is a Collection Development and Reading Librarian for the Santa Clara County Library District, working in the District’s Services and Support Center in

Campbell, California. Lora purchases e-books, DVDs, book club kits, and e-magazines to support patrons who use the district’s seven libraries and two bookmobiles. Part of the District’s mission is to provide diverse resources on a wide variety of subjects and viewpoints, and to help people use those resources — a task right up the alley of GVRL eBooks.

“We are committed to offering a variety of subject areas, topics, and viewpoints,” says Lora. “Providing electronic versions of reference sources can be more cost effective than print copies at multiple locations.”

New Customer Data Upload Feature for DemographicsNow! Business and People

July 2, 2018September 10, 2014

DemographicsNow Public Library Business Resource

Now, business researchers and small business owners can be even savvier with more customer knowledge. A new feature within DemographicsNow! gives your users the ability to upload their customer or business data and blend it with rich consumer information, like demographics, psychographics, and Experian consumer segments!

Michigan eLibrary Boosts Local Economy

May 23, 2018July 9, 2014

By Gale Marketing Research Team

In June 2013, the Michigan eLibrary (MeL), a service of the Library of Michigan, added three Gale online resources – DemographicsNow: Business & People, BusinessInsights: Global, and Gale LegalForms – plus a collection of business-oriented GVRL eBooks to their portfolio.

The decision to purchase business resources for Michigan resulted in funding proposed by the office of Michigan Governor Rick Snyder as part of his “Economic Gardening” initiative to grow businesses in the state, which was then enacted by the Michigan state legislature.

Before MeL had these new business resources available, libraries had to buy their own. Many didn’t have the funds to do so, according to Deb Biggs Thomas, Michigan eLibrary & Outreach Coordinator at the Library of Michigan.