Reference Service - Ask at the reference desk for information about any of our resources, for factual information, or for help in getting started with research

Computer Services - Free Internet access with your Minuteman library card; Microsoft Word, Publisher, Excel and PowerPoint; printing (15¢/page b&w; 25¢/ page color). Floppy disks and USB storage devices may be used on all computers.

Free Wireless Internet Access - Available on the library's main and upper floors for properly equipped laptops; signal strength varies within the building. A brochure with more information is available at the Reference Desk.

Meeting Rooms - Rooms available for small and large meetings. Call the reference desk for more information about our policies or reserve a room online.

• Business and Company ASAP (1980 - current)
  Research companies, markets and industries, from market trends, mergers and acquisitions to current management theory and company overviews. Access business and trade journals, newspapers and company directory profiles with full text and images.
• General Business File ASAP (1980 - current)
  Analyze company performance and activity, industry events and trends as well as the latest in management, economics and politics. Access to a combination of broker research reports, trade publications, newspapers, journals and company directory listings with full text and images available.
• Boston Globe (Full text articles, 1980 - current)
  Complete full-text content of local, regional, national and international developments. Paid advertisements, syndicated columns excluded.
• New York Times (Full text articles, 2000 - current)
  Complete full-text content of local, regional, national and international developments. Paid advertisements, syndicated columns excluded. The Book Review and Magazine have been separated out from this database; they may be accessed using separate links.
• Historical New York Times (1851-2001)
  Full page and article images with searchable full text back to the first issue. The collection includes digital reproductions providing access to every page from every available issue.
• Gale Virtual Reference Library
  A database of encyclopedias and specialized reference sources for multidisciplinary research.
  
• Reference USA A directory with information about 12 million U.S. businesses searchable by state, zip, SIC code, Yellow Page headings, etc.
  

Information Delivery by Fax - Contact the Reference Desk if you'd like an article or other information faxed directly to you.

Article Delivery - Articles not in our databases can be requested and delivered to you electronically within 1-2 weeks at no charge. (If we print them out for you there is a charge of 15¢/page.)

Business Resources at the Library

Periodicals and Newspapers

Adweek Fortune
Banker and Tradesman Harvard Business Review
Barron's Inc.
Boston Business Journal Investor's Business Daily
Business Week Kiplinger's
Consumer Reports Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street
Economist Mass High Tech
Fast Company Standard and Poor's Outlook
Forbes Survey of Current Business
Wall Street Journal

The link to Magazines/Newspapers available in print the library is on the left-hand menu on all pages of this website. Magazine and newspaper articles are also available via ourdatabases

Reference Materials (some of these books are also in the circulating collection)

American Bar Association Legal Guide for Small Business
Boston Business Journal's Book of Lists
Business Plans Handbook
Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources
How to Start a Business in Massachusetts
Morningstar Investor
New England Directory of High Technology Companies
Nolo "Law for All" series, a wide range of titles, including:
Consultant & Independent Contractor Agreements
Creating Your Own Retirement Plan
Home Business Tax Deductions
Incorporate Your Business
Legal Guide for Starting and Running a Small Business
Patent It Yourself
Tax Savvy for Small Business
Public Records Online
Valueline Investment Survey

Check our catalog to find additional books on marketing, accounting, legal issues for business owners, etc. The link to the catalog is a button at the top of every page on this website. And, If you're not finding what you need, please ask a Reference Librarian for assistance. If the Winchester collection does not have material, we can usually get it from another library in about a week.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AND SERVICES

Local Libraries

Boston Public Library - Kirstein Business Branch
A specialized business reference and research service of the Boston Public Library which will relocate to the main Boston Public Library building. The Kirstein Business Branch will close to the public on June 30th in preparation for reopening at the Central Library in summer 2009. www.bpl.org/research/kbb/kbbhome.htm

Associated Grant Makers Resource Center for Philanthropy
Useful for non-profit organizations. Center resources include information about grants and grant makers, fundraising materials and publications offering technical assistance on proposal writing, board development and public relations. Open to the public.
55 Court Street, Suite 520, Boston, MA 02108
617-426-2606 www.agmconnect.org

Massachusetts Trial Court Libraries
Seventeen public law libraries providing legal reference services and legal research assistance to everyone. On the website: Code of Mass. Regulations, Mass. General Laws, search laws by topic, and more. Information also provided on site and by phone, chat, fax and e-mail.
www.lawlib.state.ma.us

Recommended Web Resources

Boston Public Library www.bpl.org
All Massachusetts residents may apply for a Boston Public Library card allowing access to dozens of databases - many available from your home or office.

American FactFinder factfinder.census.gov
"Your source for population, housing, economic, and geographic data" - User-friendly access to U.S. government census data.

Mass. Small Business Development Center Network msbdc.som.umass.edu
Provides free, confidential, one-to-one management and technical assistance counseling and low-cost educational training programs to prospective and existing small businesses.

SCORE: Counselors to America's Small Business www.score.org
The Service Corps of Retired Executives gives small business owners guidance in establishing and maintaining successful enterprises. The website provides locations of local chapters; links to calculators, free software, business plans, and other resources; news and articles; and free, confidential counseling by email. Counselors represent hundreds of areas of expertise.

Entrepreneur.com www.entrepreneur.com
Designed for the entrepreneur or small business owner, this site contains information on starting and financing a business, sales and marketing, developing a business plan, buying a franchise, and more.

KnowThis.com: Knowledge Source for Marketing www.knowthis.com
A "resource and reference site for those involved in marketing, market research, advertising, selling, promotion, and other marketing-related areas." Includes feature articles, a tutorial on writing a market plan, and links to articles, marketing magazines, newspapers, and professional organizations. Searchable.

Virtual Promote www.virtualpromote.com
Contains discussion forums on search engines, Internet marketing, and Web site design; a collection of "tools, links, and utilities" for building Web sites; articles; and more.

Writers Write www.writerswrite.com
An all-purpose writers' resource and searchable database. Includes information on different markets for various writing types and genres (including e-publishing, technical writing, greeting cards, business writing, and research), message boards, job listings, writers groups, organizations, contests, conferences, and more. Browsable and searchable

Resources from the Boston Public Library

Available from your home or office, with a BPL card; other databases are available for in-library use only. At www.bpl.org click on "Electronic Resources" and then on "Business."

Business and Industry - Provides full-text articles and abstracts from over 600 leading trade and general business periodicals from over 30 countries.

Business and Management Practices - Full-text resource with a focus on the practical aspects and approaches of business management. Updated weekly and providing coverage back to 1995. Highly-focused coverage of more than 300 core management journals and trade publications.

Business Source Premier - Provides full text for more than 2,950 scholarly business journals, including full text for nearly 900 peer-reviewed business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for more than 300 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. This database is updated daily.

Canadian Business Directory - Directory of more than 1 million Canadian companies compiled from the classified pages of telephone books. Same type of info and searching as ReferenceUSA Business.

Mergent Online - In-depth reports on over 30,000 Public companies, both U.S. and Global. Information includes financials from company SEC filings, annual reports (current and archived), institutional holdings and insider trading. Coverage: 1995-present

ReferenceUSA Business - Directory of more than 11 million US companies compiled from the classified pages of telephone books, including company name, divisions and subsidiaries, address, line of business, number of employees, annual sales and credit rating. Searchable by company name or industry, searches can be narrowed geographically, by number of employees or by sales. Coverage: current, updated continuously

Regional Business News™ -- Provides comprehensive full-text coverage for regional business publications, incorporating coverage of 75 business journals, newspapers and newswires from all metropolitan and rural areas within the U.S. Updated daily.

Tablebase - Find market share, company and brand rankings, industry and product forecasts, production and consumption statistics, imports and exports, usage and capacity, number of users/outlets, trends and much, much more.

Xrefer - xreferplus is a giant online reference library that provides access to as many as 162 reference books, including encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauri, books of quotations, as well as a range of subject-specific titles all cross-referenced throughout the collection. Special features include a crossword solver and conversion calculators.