Research Central: Business Research

Business Research

Library Services for Businesses

You need information to run and grow a successful business. We can help you find it!

Business-Oriented Databases

Our Reference Librarians can assist you in finding free resources including business-oriented databases to create customer lists, develop and gather competitive intelligence (CI), and investigate industries.

Small Business FAQ

Get detailed guidance on demographics, patents, trademarks, business plans, licenses, financing, taxes, and much more.

Small Business Seminars / SCORE Workshops

Attend a seminar taught by experienced Dayton SCORE professionals on sales, websites, back-office functions, front-office functions and more! Dayton SCORE presents free seminars for the business community at the Library. Check the online calendar or call the Library for more information.

Business Research Request

Complete this online form with your specific business information request and a librarian will research your topic and send you the information.

Featured Database

Gale Business: DemographicsNow: Business and People

Databases

Books & More

Web Links

Library Events

Databases

AtoZdatabases

Comprehensive coverage of business listings. Research real estate, holding and investment companies, business services, etc. Includes national telephone directory for residential and yellow pages with reverse phone searching.

Barron's Weekly

from ProQuest Global Newsstream
Archive of full text Barron''s articles from 1988 to present.

Business Source Premier

from EBSCOhost
Provides business researchers with highly-refined tools they need in order to conduct sophisticated searches for business content.

Gale Business: Entrepreneurship

A comprehensive database that covers all aspects of starting and operating a business, including accounting, finance, human resources, management, marketing, tax, and more. Great for entrepreneurs and students alike!

Gale Business: DemographicsNow: Business and People

Connects users with a wealth of highly detailed demographic data, leveraging Census data, consumer expenditures, retail spending, and Mosaic Lifestyle market segmentation groupings to helps users "crunch" data in easy-to-use report formats.

Gale Business: Plan Builder

Gale Business: Plan Builder is a step-by-step online planning tool for starting, managing and optimizing a business or nonprofit. The program's intuitive dashboard walks users through five areas of exploration in order to develop a business plan focused on long-term success.
Online account is required. Children under the age of 13 should have a parent or guardian open this account.

Gale Directory Library

GDL provides valuable directory information, such as Ward's Business Directory or Encyclopedia of Associations, accessible digitally anytime, anywhere. Get immediate access to vetted sources, find relevant results quickly, and make informed decisions - all of which can add up to a competitive advantage. Find revenue, compare companies by industry or location, sort by any field, export data for further analysis...the options are endless!

Gale eBooks

Instantly access reference eBooks on many subjects. These trusted, authoritative reference works are available 24/7!

Global Newsstream

by ProQuest
Exclusive access to 85 full-text newspapers from the world-leading news, including Dayton Daily News from 1993 to current, and Wall Street Journal from 1984 to present. Research all over the country!

JobNow

from Brainfuse
A one-of-a-kind job coaching service designed to help you land the job of your dreams! With support for every stage of the job search, you will feel ready for the interview. Starting at the beginning, try resources that will help match your interests and experiences to a career with eParachute. Get assistance with resume building with resume templates and OptimalResume, complete with video mock interviews. Best of all, LIVE Career Tutors are available every day from 2p.m. to 11p.m.
Online account is required only if you want to save your past test results or sessions.

JobsOhio ZoomProspector

Provides free tools for site selection, demographics, and consumer segment information.

Legal Forms

from GALE
Access thousands of business, personal, real estate, state specific, federal, and general forms covering hundreds of legal subjects and issues.

Lingo LITE

from World Trade Press
Learn basic vocabulary in 30 languages from native speakers. Each vocabulary entry includes a color photo, a native speaker video, and the word in the local language and your native language. Users can change the interface language at the click of a button.

LinkedIn Learning for Library

PREVIOUSLY LYNDA.COM
LinkedIn Learning has more than 6,600 courses! Learning paths are step-by-step courses, supported with quizzes, practice, and reminders. Examples of learning paths include how to become a web developer, manager, bookkeeper, project manager, small business owner, digital marketer, or digital illustrator.
Get assistance logging in via the LinkedIn Learning App.

Marketscope Advisor

from CFRA
Access independent and forward-focused investment analysis, market commentary, news, and data with CFRA's essential analytical tools for industry reports, and stock and fund reports. Stay on top of changes in the markets so you can make informed investment decisions, track strategies to maximize returns, and deliver clear investment insights.

Mergent Intellect

Powered by Hoover''s, a D&B Solution, Mergent Intellect is a flexible web-based application featuring a deep collection of worldwide business information on over 100 million global private businesses. Mergent Intellect offers a unique opportunity to access private and public U.S and international business data, industry news, facts & figures, executive contact information, census data, a job search solution, enhanced people and business search, access industry profiles and more.
Access will end January 1, 2022.

Morningstar

Morningstar provides data on investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data.

New York Times Online - NYTimes.com

Delve into the stories and topics that interest you most, from world news to the arts, Book Review to Sunday Review and everything in between. Get access to The New York Times at NYTimes.com and its Chinese edition at cn.nytimes.com. Available on both Android and Apple apps.

OhioMeansJobs Assessment & Training Center

from EBSCO LearningExpress
A highly-acclaimed, comprehensive selection of interactive online tutorials, practice tests, articles, eBooks, and high-stakes test preparation all modeled after official tests. The assessment & training center is designed to help students and professionals at all levels of learning achieve their educational and career-related goals.

Reference Solutions

Search for people, businesses and more! Find jobs by job skills, location, and industry. Find business opportunities. Locate companies nationwide. Research business executives. View historical market trends. Track down addresses and phone numbers. Discover news articles for research.

Regional Business News

from EBSCOhost
Provides full text for more than 50 regional business publications, 75 business journals, newspapers, and newswires, covering all metropolitan and rural areas within the United States.

Small Business Reference Center

from EBSCOhost
Exclusive full text for many top consumer small business reference books, as well as tools to address many small business topics. Includes business videos, a help and advice section, and details on how to create business plans.

Statista.com

Statista.com is one of the first statistic portals in the world to integrate data on over 80,000 topics from over 18,000 sources onto a single professional platform. Categorized into 21 market sectors, Statista.com provides direct access to quantitative data on media, business, finance, politics, and a wide variety of other areas of interest or markets. Great for business owners, students, and curious people alike!

Treehouse

Treehouse is an online video and interactive learning platform. All content is focused on technology and includes content that teaches mobile, front-end and back-end web development in a variety of programming languages. To create or reactivate your Treehouse account, submit this form. Once your request is processed, Treehouse will send an invitation email to get started.
Online account is required. If you already have an active WCPL account with Treehouse, please log in here. If you are under the age of 13, a parent or guardian must create this account.

Value Line

A comprehensive source of information and advice that offers reports, stock lookup, timeliness ranking, portfolios and more.

Wall Street Journal

from ProQuest Global Newsstream
Search the most circulated newspaper in the United States from January 2, 1984 to the present.

Wall Street Journal Online - WSJ.com

Access The Wall Street Journal from anywhere! Simply create your account and start using WSJ.com immediately. (WSJ.com will then be available for the next three days. For repeated access, come back, click the link again, and login with the same username and password.)
Library patrons are not permitted to share sign-on credentials with any other person.

Washington Post

from ProQuest Global Newsstream
Get breaking news and analysis on politics, business, world national news, entertainment and more from the oldest newspaper in the United States from December 4, 1996 to the present.

WashingtonPost.com

Enjoy direct, unlimited access to WashingtonPost.com with expert reporting and analysis from Washington and around the world, including award-winning investigative coverage and editorial commentary. Includes historical archives.
The mobile app is available for Android and iOS devices. When outside of a library you can activate a 7-day pass. Offsite access requires the creation of a WaPo account using a valid email. After 7 days, you will need to reauthenticate your access.

Web Links

BusinessFirst!
Created in 2001, and nationally recognized, the BusinessFirst! Program uses a customer oriented approach to economic development that connects businesses to resources in the Dayton area.

D&B Hoover's
Information on U.S. and foreign companies and industries. The site is subscription-based, however some company information is available for free.

Explore Census Data
Are you looking for data to help you start or grow a business or understand the business landscape for a region? Explore Census Data provides selected demographic and economic data from the Census Bureau tailored to specific types of users in a simple to access and use format. Also includes the Survey of Business Owners.

Export.gov
Resources from across the U.S. Government to assist American businesses in planning international sales strategies and succeed in today’s global marketplace.

FRED: Federal Reserve Economic Data
FRED, a project of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, is a leading source of worldwide economic data. Particularly useful for creating graphs to track big data over time.

globalEDGE
Provides both information and instruction on how to research international business topics.

Millie: Your Marketing Intelligence Analyst
Northern Light's Millie provides at-a-glance market and competitive intelligence on a variety of industries.The heart of Millie is the presentation of immediately useful information on industry dashboards. You will find featured stories, continuously updated news content, and links to additional topics.

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers
Find companies and products in North America. Search by company, product, or brand name.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Measures labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy to support public and private decision-making.

Topic List

Books & More

Gale Reference eBooks: Legal Information