SubscribeBusiness libraries for small companies
by Jennifer SmithI had the pleasure last night of meeting Neil Infield, Manager of the Business and IP Centre (BIPC) at the British Library. I’ve long admired Neil for making the British Library relevant, accessible and welcoming to small companies. I’m particularly chuffed when small business owners, unaware that I’m a librarian, rave to me about the resources available in the BIPC and how knowledgeable and helpful the staff are.
People often ask me what exactly is information management. Admittedly it’s a broad remit. Essentially it’s about recognising information as a resource that you need to get hold of and understand, share with those who need it, and finally store it in such a way that you’re likely to find it again!
The BIPC at the British Library plays a critical role in the first stage of information management — getting hold of good quality, relevant information. This is the stuff that you need to enable you to make sound business decisions. It’s expensive to gather quality data, which is why you’re unlikely to find it available for free on the Internet. The business information resources at the BIPC would normally cost a fortune to access, but we get to access it all for free!
And as well as making this gold mine of information available, the highly knowledgeable staff at the BIPC also run regular training sessions on how to use the resources, to help you find the information which can help you.
Small companies in London are really blessed with great library services. Not only do we have the BIPC, but also the City Business Library. Great resources — for free. Knowledgeable, friendly staff, offering free training and networking events. I wonder how many other countries have such great library services supporting their startups and small businesses?
Roll on the day when all business decisions are based on sound research and quality data!