The good news is that for Kitsap County residents and business owners, the kind of knowledge necessary to ride out and even grow during the current shifts in the business world is as close as the Kitsap Regional Library system. Better yet, almost all of that information is usually always free.

While most of the 230,000 Kitsap County residents eligible to use the libraries think of them as a terrific place to check out the latest John Grisham novel or pick up a handful of videos for the kids, what the nine community libraries within the Kitsap Regional Library (KRL) system has to offer business owners is extensive.

Want to check up on what a competitor, a sub-contractor or a potential customer has had written about them in the last couple of years? By logging on to the library’s collection of online databases, library cardholders have immediate access to resources such as ProQuest, Electric Library and Reference USA. While the databases themselves cost thousands of dollars in annual subscription fees, the use of them is free to library cardholders.

Both general and specialty business magazines, including Inc., (the London) Financial Times, Advertising Age, Forbes, Fortune and Business Week are, with the exception of the most recent copy, available for check-out as are personal finance and investment titles such as Barron’s, Kiplingers, Money and the Wall Street Journal.

Business owners looking to research other companies for sales lead purposes or to verify credit or company history information can utilize the library’s onsite reference titles or online databases.

Reference titles such as Standard and Poor’s Corporation Records, the Thomas Register and Million Dollar Companies are excellent resources for information on larger companies while ReferenceUSA gives address, phone and modest company information on more than eleven million US companies.

While most business experts agree that a slowing business economy means that effective marketing and public relations efforts should be moved to the forefront of a company’s strategy for growth, for smaller companies that often means bringing – or keeping – publicity efforts in-house.

The library offers plenty of material on how to write new product release announcements, press releases and public service announcements, but also offers the information necessary to disseminate it effectively.

On-site references such as the Gale Directory of Publications, Bacon’s Media Directory and Associations Unlimited can provide media contact information for radio, television, print and Internet outlets and Ulrich’s, another source for media contacts, can be accessed through the library’s online databases.

Those with KRL library cards can access the library’s resources offsite, seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, through the library’s website at www.krl.org. Database sites can be accessed, print and audio/video media (books, books-on-tape, videos and magazines) can be ordered and held at the branch closest to the cardholder; IRS tax forms and schedules can be downloaded and users can even pose questions to a reference librarian via e-mail.

Too busy to pick up the library materials you ordered online? For $2.50 per item, the library will mail the materials to you.

The library’s website also offers scores of links that can answer the kinds of questions that almost any business has on a daily basis. Besides links to local organizations , the site offers direct links to Washington State government sites (including Department of Revenue and the Business License Center), Federal government sites (Small Business Administration, US Business Advisor, IRS) and specialty sites for home businesses, minority-owned businesses and companies devoted to E-commerce.

“You name it and we probably have it or have access to it,” said Peggy Brenanan, a research librarian at KRL’s Central Branch. “I’m not sure that most business owners have any idea of the information that we can provide to them, free of charge.”

“We can offer people who are starting a new business information on everything from business plans and loan applications,” Brenanan continues, “to information on running a business out of your home.”

Brenanan said that KRL is also a wonderful resource for local non-profits and community organizations. Books and online data for grant writing and fund-raising are available as are materials on the efficient running of a non-profit organization.
These materials, Brenanan emphasizes, are above and beyond the regular materials available on everything from business leadership and effective employee management to marketing and sales strategy.

In order to qualify for a Kitsap Regional Library card, those filling out the application must either reside or work in Kitsap County and there is no cost to apply.