Library's Database Training Aids Your Business and Career

YOUNGSTOWN (April 23, 2008) – You may be an entrepreneur, business owner, job-seeker or consumer. No matter your connection to the business world, the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County has a collection of databases to help boost your business initiatives. To teach you more about some of these resources and how to use them, the Library's Business and Investment Center is offering a free series of training sessions in May.

During the series, “Using Databases to Advance Your Business and Career, ” representatives from several database publishers will give expert overviews of the following resources: “ ReferenceUSA ” on May 5, “ DemographicsNow Library Edition ” and “ Business & Company Resource Center ” on May 15 and “ Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database ” on May 19. All sessions will be 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Main Library, 305 Wick Ave., Youngstown. Registration for each of the programs is required by calling 330-744-8636 and pressing “2” at the prompt.

“Learning to use these databases is one of the greatest investments any person who is tied to business can make,” said Business and Investment Center librarian Hannah Moses. “Some of the features within these databases would normally cost a great deal of money for an individual or business to obtain, but the Library enables the public to use these resources at no expense.”

Access to these databases is free and convenient with a Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County library card. Patrons can use the databases at each of the Library's 16 locations, as well as from the office, home or anywhere Internet is available, giving them flexibility to conduct research after Library hours. Also, all databases allow users to download their search results and most let researchers e-mail their findings; to export data from the Library's computers, a flash drive, floppy disc or e-mail must be used.

So, which databases are best for your business purposes? Entrepreneurs and business owners will be interested in the marketing aspects of “ReferenceUSA,” “DemographicsNow Library Edition” and “Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database,” and can keep up with industry news through “Business & Company Resource Center.” Job-seekers will be able to research potential employers with “Business & Company Resource Center” and employment opportunities with “Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database.” Consumers will appreciate the precise search features for businesses and health-care providers at “ReferenceUSA” in addition to the company rankings and product information offered by “Business & Company Resource Center.”

Database Descriptions

You've just moved to Youngstown and need a new doctor, preferably a female family practitioner. Or you're a small-business owner who wants a count of your local competitors. Check out “ ReferenceUSA ,” a database of more than 13 million businesses that can be used as a detailed directory for consumers or as a powerful marketing tool for business opportunities. The Library subscribes to four modules of this database: U.S. Businesses, HealthCare, New Businesses and U.S. Residential.

You're starting a new business, aren't certain of the best location for it, but know the potential area's age and income will be determining factors in its success. You should use “ DemographicsNow Library Edition ,” which provides access to Ohio's demographic data and has the ability to generate maps and reports including information about consumer expenditures, population, age, income, race, housing, employment and Mosaic cluster groups by various geographic breakdowns. It even offers a five-year projection of data.

You need to know a company's background — from the brands it has to the bucks it makes. You'll want to learn about “ Business & Company Resource Center ,” a fully integrated resource for timely and authoritative information on businesses, which brings together company profiles and histories, product information, rankings, financial statistics, investment reports and news articles.

You'd like to find work in a specific sector and particular region, so you log onto “ Dun & Bradstreet Million Dollar Database ” for employment trends at leading public and private companies in the U.S. and Canada. Not only does this resource help you identify potential job opportunities, but it also allows for comprehensive marketing research with its in-depth company, contact and executive information, as well as sales data.

To access these Business and Investment Center databases and more, visit http://www.libraryvisit.org/electronic.htm.