Category: EBRPL Business Tip

Reference USA offers demographic search tools that are useful for business planning and market research users. Users can find all businesses, or those by a specific Standard Industrial Classification number (SIC), within a 20 mile radius.

When searching the Business section of Reference USA, whether by company name, geographic area – zip code, city, parish, or Metropolitan Statistical Area; or a business type search – Yellow Page Heading or SIC; the detailed listing page provides the user with two additional demographic searching options. For example, if a search is conducted for “grocers – retail” in a specific zip code area, and the user clicks to the detail listing of any retrieved entry, a search option at the bottom of the page allows for additional searching either by all businesses, or SIC within a radius of 1/10th of a mile to 20 miles.

To access Reference USA, click on the Other Databases link located to the left on the Business and Career Connection homepage, use your East Baton Rouge Parish Library card number to authenticate, and select Reference USA from the database list.

Set your Internet browser to www.firstgov.gov, the gateway website to United States government information on the World Wide Web. The designers of FirstGov have grouped business information under a button tab labeled “Business and Nonprofits“. Transactions with the federal government can be conducted online such as, requesting an employer identification number, applying for an export license, and verification of Social Security numbers.

The link to “Forms” opens pathways to a collection of federal forms grouped by form number or regulatory agency. Frequently requested forms, such as, Social Security, tax, and veterans benefits are grouped together in a separate category. Most forms are available in PDF format and can be printed out using the free downloadable Adobe reader.

Other interesting links from the FirstGov Business and Nonprofits page include, a list of state and territory business resources, how to buy and sell to the government, and a collection of printable workplace posters.

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library subscribes to the complete Safari Tech Books Online catalog. The entire collection of over 1,800 titles is available to registered patrons of the library. Users can access any title from their home or business by clicking on the Safari Techbooks link in the Business Databases menu or by selecting the Online Databases link from our website homepage and then entering their library card number.

Once you have arrived at the Safari homepage, you can search the collection by author, title, publisher or subject. If you just want to browse a list of titles, click on the “Library” button. An advanced search feature is available. Special software for reading the books online is not required. Content is displayed with the book’s table of contents on the left side of the page with text in the remaining viewing area of the page. Print, email and bookmark options are included.

A partial listing of business related titles include, Que’s Official Internet Yellow Pages 2006 Edition, Microsoft® Small Business Kit 2004 Edition, and Power Up Your Small-Medium Business: A Guide To Enabling Network Technologies 2004 Edition.