A kick-start for start-ups

27 June 2005 :: Posted by Lawrence Christensen

Novelty searches, company profiles and market analyses now available from the British Library

One of the biggest challenges facing aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators is the need to seek out and manage the information they need to develop and fully exploit their ideas. Often, such information can be overwhelming or difficult to navigate: the resources offered by the internet might offer breadth of coverage, but this is no substitute for depth of detail and relevance.

A portfolio of services launched today by the British Library combine the Library’s unrivalled business collections – including 600 online databases and 50 million patent records – with the expertise of its information specialists, offering a fast and reliable response to a range of business and innovation enquiries. The new services include product novelty research, market analysis and mailing list supply.

Utilising the British Library’s extensive patent resources, the Product Novelty Service is able to establish whether a particular product idea is novel – an essential step before applying for a patent to protect that idea. Results of this search are presented as a list of patent applications in short format, with the most potentially relevant records supplied in full format.

The Library’s Market Analysis Service is the ideal resource for those drawing up a business plan for their new venture: reference experts are on hand to search published information according to each user’s requirements. In this way, entrepreneurs may establish whether a market is growing or contracting, who potential competitors might be, how their customer base breaks down, whether there are any other factors – such as impending legislation – that might affect the success of their business and whether or not grants or other forms of assistance are available.

The British Library can also provide comprehensive lists of companies by activity, geographical location and size – such rich information resources are especially valuable and useful when it comes to contacting potential customers and also establishing the financial stability of specific companies by supplying financial reports.

Announcing the new portfolio of services, Nigel Spencer, the British Library’s Research Service Manager said: “We are committed to offering high quality and affordable information services to those facing the challenges of starting a business. The services in this portfolio address the questions most frequently asked by start-ups.”

For further information please contact: Ben Sanderson at the British Library Press Office (telephone +44 (0)1937 546126, email: ben.sanderson@bl.uk) or Lawrence Christensen (telephone +44 (0)20 7412 7114, email: lawrence.christensen@bl.uk).

Notes for Editors

The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. It provides world class information services to the academic, business, research and scientific communities and offers unparalleled access to the world’s largest and most comprehensive research collection. The Library’s collection has developed over 250 years and exceeds 150 million separate items representing every age of written civilisation. It includes: books, journals, manuscripts, maps, stamps, music, patents, newspapers and sound recordings in all written and spoken languages. Further information is available on the Library’s website.