At Joynture, we like to encourage our coworking space members to grow professionally through hosting events and providing them with resources in our office. And so we wanted to let you know about an entire other world of (free) resources waiting for you at the New York Public Library!

First things first. If you do not have a library card, apply for one here. It shouldn’t take you more than three minutes to fill out the form. Once you are done you will be given a temporary code. Write it down and then bring it to your local library. Once you have a card, you will have access to all the libraries’ databases. There are a number of databases that are helpful for entrepreneurs, startups and small businesses. From the home page, click on Research, then click on Articles and Databases. In the search box, search by subject. There are two main categories that will be most helpful: “market research” and “industry survey and profiles.” IBIS World, First Research, Reference USA and Business Source Premier EBSCO will be the most helpful in the market research category. However, note that some of these are only accessible from specific NYPL locations while others are available from the comfort of your own home. Business Insights: Essential and SimplyMap are two of the best databases in the industry survey and profiles category.

If you are looking for even more help, business advice and counseling is available for free through SCORE. “SCORE provides FREE, in-depth business counseling for business owners and small businesses, providing assistance with starting a business, writing a business plan, and helping successful firms in planning for expansion. SCORE is a volunteer, non-profit association affiliated with the Small Business Administration.  Visit SCORE at SIBL, or send an email to skype@scorenyc.org to schedule a counseling meeting via Skype.”

And if you’re still lost after using all the above resources, just ask one of the friendly librarians what you are looking for. They are very knowledgeable about all the free services available to small businesses and surely be able to point you in the right direction.