Fact Sheet

Small Business Fact Sheet

Helping Entrepreneurs
To carry out its mission to foster the creation and expansion of small businesses, The New York Public Library's new Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), located at 34th Street and Madison Avenue, has an array of services to help entrepreneurs.

The major components of the program include a Small Business Information Service that will provide data on marketing, financing and plan-ning, among other subjects; a Small Business Web Site to guide computer users with access to the Internet to the wealth of information available to the en-trepreneur at SIBL.; on-site advice from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE); an International Trade Resources Service; and for-fee premium ser-vices like extended research and speedy document delivery.

Small Business Information Service
SIBL's Information Services specialists are available to point visitors toward books, journals, CD-ROM's, online materials and other sources. Key subject areas covered are demographics, market research, financing, and business plan creation.

Web Site
The Small Business Web Site includes the following items:

  • a list of l25 business start-up guides published by Entrepreneur Magazine
  • a list of the government-funded Small Business Development Centers in the tristate metropolitan area, which help develop and evaluate business plans
  • a list of the CD-ROM's available at the library's Electronic Information Center, including census data, statistical information like market share numbers, import and export information, company information, and publication indexes
  • a list of small business Internet sites, including that of the Small Business Administration

SCORE
SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is a group of veteran business leaders who use the expertise they've gained during their active careers to advise small business owners just starting out or needing aid in particular areas. SCORE will have a satellite office at SIBL open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., appointments preferred.

International Trade Resources Service
This program provides extensive informa-tion to companies interested in competing in the global marketplace. The wide variety of publically accessible resources gives smaller firms access to sophisticated knowledge about particular markets and international commercial regulation that traditionally has been easily available only to large companies.

NYPLXpress
For those who need premium services like extended research on a specific topic and/or fast document delivery, SIBL's fee-based NYPLXpress does the job. Such services can be provided to customers in the city, across the United States, and around the world.

With a research-level collection of 1.2 million volumes, a circulating col-lection of 50,000 books, 110,000 business and scientific periodical titles, and ex-tensive multimedia resources retrievable at computer work stations, SIBL is the nation's largest public information center devoted solely to business and science.

The $100 million project, financed by federal, state, city and private sources, was designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates and occupies 160,000 square feet in the former B. Altman building.

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thoerenz, pro, 5/17/96