1. Outreach and
Collection
Development at
the Public Library
Nicolette Warisse Sosulski, MLIS
Business Librarian, Portage District
Library
Staff Backup Librarian,
QuestionPoint, OCLC

2. About Me
 BA, Honors English and Government, Georgetown University
(no, I did not start with business in the cradle, but with
Aristotle, Aquinas, Chaucer and Shakespeare!)
 MLIS, iSchool at the University of Washington
 Business Librarian (since 2005) Portage District Library,
Portage MI. In 2011, I won the Gale Cengage Award for
Excellence in Business Librarianship (mentioned here
because the award largely resulted from outreach on
business resources and services to libraries, business
organizations, etc)
 Order the collections as well for Reference, Databases, 100s,
200s, 300s, 400s, 600s and 700s
 Staff backup chat librarian, QuestionPoint, OCLC, since
2003, where in the course of answering questions for other
library patrons, I promote their collections and services
(especially the use of subject specialist liaisons!)

3. About Me
I believe
 That if people knew more about libraries they
would use them more
 That people will not remember what they are
taught only once about libraries
 That point-of-need PR often trumps anything else
that you do as far as getting the word out about
collections and services
 That more people blow off the introduction to the
library orientation than actually go to it (this is
anecdotal and cynical
 The library collection includes everything between
the librarian’s ears

4. When They Have No Clue that
the Library is not Storytime and
Evanovich
Presentation at “Connecting
Entrepreneurial Communities”
Conference, Marshall, MI
http://www.slideshare.net/librista/librarian-
services-to-entrepreneurs

5. When They Have No Clue that
the Library is not Storytime and
Evanovich
Presenting at classes in town:
 SCORE
 SBTDC (who also refers to us)
 Business Information Days (one coming up
for 5/3 Bank)
 Michigan Association of Townships

6. When They Have No Clue that
the Library is not Storytime and
Evanovich
Presenting at classes in town:
 SCORE
 SBTDC (who also refers to us)
 Business Information Days (one coming up
for 5/3 Bank)
 Michigan Association of Townships

7. When They Have No Clue that
the Library is not Storytime and
Evanovich
Presenting at classes in
the library:
 Business Research
Essentials
 Muffins and the Market
 Resume Hacks
 Job Search for Teens
 Strengthsquest for
High School Students

8. When They Have No Clue that the Library
is not Storytime and Evanovich:
Get them into the library with food or programming
Let us know if we can be of service in the future
Remember you can call, email, fax or come in person to ask a
question
Your internet is on the fritz? We have free wi-fi!
Thank You for Coming! Enjoy The Rest of Your Day!
Business for Breakfast:
Fueling Your Business
Hosted by
the Kalamazoo Regional
Chamber of Commerce
and
the Business Information Center
Portage District Library
Tuesday November 11th
, 2008
7:30 AM – 9 AM
Helping you access the world of information in a friendly atmosphere

9. When They Have No Clue that
the Library is not Storytime and
Evanovich
Take advantage of the fact that EVERYBODY needs content
Have You Used the Business Tools You Already
Have?
by Nicolette Warisse Sosulski, MLIS
Business Librarian, Portage District Library
Market research improves your knowledge of your customer, your
suppliers, your competition, your industry. It should play a part in the
decisions you make in opening a business, in expanding a business,
or in diversifying a product line. How many of you look at that term
and think “expensive subscriptions, reports, and mailing lists—I can’t
afford it” or “I need more than I can afford”? What you may not have realized lately is that the
libraries around you have powerful resources to which your library taxes and millages have
already provided you access.
If you are a cardholder at Portage District Library, for example (or Kalamazoo, or Battle Creek),
you have online access to Reference USA, a powerful database including the residential and
business listings from every telephone book in the country. This data can be searched and sorted
by yellow page company listing, by NAICS, or SIC number; geographically sliced and diced by city,
county, or state; limited by employee size, number of computers onsite, or sales volume; and
screened for executive name (very useful when a company undergoes a number of changes of
ownership but some of the principals remain on board) or gender (women-owned companies).
You can then download and export these records into an Excel spreadsheet to manipulate as you
will.
You might also find information through Associations Unlimited, which affords you the
opportunity to find the trade and consumer associations providing you access to member lists,
web pages, industry publications and newsletters and statistics. This can be crucial when
searching for a marketing specialist versed in a sub-sub industry niche of manufacturing, or for
looking for new suppliers of specialized equipment. There may be information at these locations
only available to association members, but in addition there is a wealth of information for which
you pay not one additional penny.
Should you be looking for industry trends, you may wish to search in the two excellent business
periodical databases provided by the Michigan Electronic Library. Business and Company
Resource Center and General BusinessFile ASAP index hundreds of industry and scholarly
publications and news sources, so that you can find industry- or company-specific information or
phenomena such as the boom in Christian publishing or make-and-take meals. Business and
Company also gives you a look at some company financials. These resources are available to every
business person in Michigan, through their library cards or through their Michigan drivers licenses
at www.mel.org.
“That’s great, “ you say, “but I just do not have time to take a trip to the library.” You don’t need
to, if you have a library card. Every single one of these resources is available to you from your
home or office through your library web page (though more Reference USA files at a time can be
downloaded from a library computer, so for big projects a trip might save time).
Your last search tool, one whom you might not have used for a while, is your librarian. We can
help you brainstorm keyword and subject terms, negotiate downloads, and increase the power
and accuracy of your search techniques. We are here to help, so please use us—you have already
paid for it!

10. Go Where They
are Captive…
The Portage Public Schools
Schoolbus Project

11. Go Where They
are Captive…
The Portage Public Schools
Schoolbus Project

12. Seize the moment!
If the schools have a last minute information need
or space need—get in there and push your
resources
http://www.slideshare.net/librista/research-presentation-for-
teens-1
http://portagelibrary.info/school-connect/Johnson/

13. Guerilla Instruction: Fries- with-
that Librarianship
Establish yourself as the
goddess of golden information
nuggets—
with every transaction give
them one more thing (no more
than two).
“Did you know that you
can click on ‘cited by’
and all kinds of related articles
will show up?”
Food photography by Edward Sargent
http://www.flickriver.com/photos/sargent_works/

14. “Fries with That” Librarianship:
Marketing and Outreach at the Point of Need
 When they ask for a GED book, teach them Learning Express Library
database.
 When they ask for a resume book, show them the interview videos.
 When they ask the order of a series by Nora Roberts, show them
www.fantasticfiction.com .
 When they look for a medical book because “they have the thyroid”,
show them www.medlineplus.com .

15. Relationship Building via
Strategic De-Acquisition
 When you are discarding resume, cover letter, or job search books
because of a new edition or some page yellowing, but they are in good
shape, ask whether an area homeless organization can use them
 When you are replacing your encyclopedias or other reference materials,
see if the local schools are on a less-frequent replacement schedule than
you are
 When you are discarding biographies or large print for lack of space,
would a senior community or jail be interested?
 When you are updating your business reference materials, would the
SCORE office like the discards?

16. Questions?
 librista@gmail.com
 https://www.facebook.com/datababe
Feel free to message or friend me!