Your Public Library

Overview: NAWBO-NW presents the Entrepreneurial Program Series during their monthly chapter meetings. In June, the Entrepreneurial Program featured Mark Pond, Business Reference Librarian, speaking about the brilliance of the public library and the availability of information that would otherwise be within the reach of only wealthy individuals or large corporations.

 

An avid Google fan and user of it's many, many tools, I was prepared Thursday evening to hear a little fluff about the  public library and what you could do there - because I thought nothing could outdo the data available online with Google. I was so VERY wrong.

As Pond gave us a live demonstration of www.spokanelibrary.org, the entire room was in awe of the data available to the City of Spokane Library card holders.



Ask A Librarian

Just like it sounds - albeit odd that you are online at the time - you can send in a question and a real librarian will answer your question. There are several Reference Librarians on staff, so depending on your question, you'll have someone  knowledgeable about the subject - or where to find the answer - assisting you. Pond told us it's even more than that - they have competitions between the Reference Librarians to see who can find the answer. Talk about service!


44 Powerful Subscription Databases

Until I saw a demonstration, I didn't quite get the picture of just HOW powerful. The database subscriptions work like this: high-priced subscriptions that the library has already paid for  and you can access. Why are they subscription-based
databases? Because this information is not available to the general public.

Let me give you an example. Pond  went to the "Reference USA" database (holding business data) and requested the businesses in the Spokane area within city limits that were owned by women. He could have narrowed his search by: age, specific locations, type of business license, type of product, etc. BECAUSE ALL THAT INFO IS AVAILABLE! Wow. Now that's powerful data, and not for the faint of heart!


Other Resources & What's New At the Library

  • Wireless access inside branches
  • Proquest - Online newspaper subscriptions to all major - and nearly all other - newspapers.
  • General One - Online business articles and industry publications with audio downloads for each.
  •  New downloadable Audio Book Collection

 

Library Budget Cuts

With the Mayor proposing budget cuts to the library (specifically 3% cut to everything and a 2% cut directly to the library), the resources available at the library will be significantly affected. If you would like to  help keep these resources available, you can contact the City Council and Mayor to let them know how valuable  the resources are to you and your business, or get involved in fundraising like the Friends of the Library (used  book sales) and the Library Foundation (private funds supporting the library).




written by: Heather Pieczonka, Director of Marketing & Communications