Online Resources

Know what you are looking for? Use the search bar to find resources by name or descriptions, scan the listings in alphabetical order, or use filters to explore different subjects, formats, age groups and more.


ABI/INFORM Global

Find current business information in full articles from business journals, newspapers, and trade publications.
Publications include Wall Street Journal and Barron's.

Library card required

African American Experience

A collection of scholarly articles and primary source documents on African American history and culture. Includes books, speeches, letters, photographs, illustrations and audio clips.

Library card required

Bizminer

Compare your company’s financial performance to local and national companies of similar size by industry. Download BizMiner’s Industry Financial Profiles and Industry Market Reports; view the reports as HTML in order to input your company’s data. 

This resource is accessible via username and password at the Central Library.  See a librarian. You may request remote access to Bizminer by sending an email reference request to the Business & Career Center.

Only at Central Library

Black Short Fiction and Folklore

Collects African and African-American short stories and folktales published in more than 15 countries from the mid-1900s to the present. Includes full digitized runs of select literary magazines and black-owned journals and newspapers.

Library card required

Black Thought and Culture

Collects published works by leading African American writers, spanning the 1700s to the present. Includes books, interviews, journal articles, speeches, essays, pamplets and letters.

Library card required

Black Women Writers

Collects fiction, poetry and essays by black women published in Africa and the Americas from the 1700s to the present.

Library card required

Caribbean Literature

Searchable collection of Caribbean poems, plays, novels, short stories, and other materials from 1700 to the present. Works are in English, French, Haitian Creole, Spanish and Dutch.

Library card required

Cision Communications Cloud

Media outlets and contacts. Share your news release via email with journalists, bloggers and social influencers via Cision.  (This resource is accessible via username and password at the Central Library.  See a librarian.)

Only at Central Library

Crain’s New York Data Center

Data on leading companies and organizations that operate in the NYC market; includes the New York Book of Lists; use these lists to benchmark your business, gather competitive intelligence, and target potential new clients. (This resource is accessible via username and password at the Central Library.  See a librarian.)

Only at Central Library

Fire Insurance Maps Online (FIMO)

New York State high-definition, full-color fire insurance maps from Sanborn and other publishers, real estate atlases, plat books, and other historical maps showing building structures, building construction details, property ownership, property uses, and other useful information. The site has an Interactive map search, and Geo-referenced or search by place name and drop-down menus.

Library card required

Flipster

Get access to major magazines and journals to read on your smartphone, tablet, or PC. Check out Flipster's getting started guide here. To get the free Flipster app, search for "Flipster" in either Google Play or  Apple's App Store

Library card required

Foundation Directory by Candid

Find funding for your nonprofit organization with Candid's quick and efficient fundraising tool. Use their clean and coded philanthropic data to evaluate a funder, gain an understanding of the grant writing process, and find financial information.

Only at Central Library

Gale Business: Entrepreneurship

Information on opening, operating, and growing a small business including financing, managing, marketing, and accounting; contains sample business plans. To learn more about using this resource, check out this video tutorial.

Library card required

Gale Business: Insights

Company and industry profiles, including brand information, investment reports, market research reports, rankings and news.

Free & accessible anywhere in NY state

Gale Business: Plan Builder

A step-by-step online planning tool for starting, managing and optimizing a business or nonprofit; the Gale Business: Plan Builder dashboard walks users through five areas of exploration to develop a business plan focused on long-term success.

Gale Business: Plan Builder requires each user to create a username and password. To set up your personal account, select “Visit the Resource” below, then “Get Started”, and then “First Time Here? Get Started." To learn more about using this resource, check out this video tutorial.

Library card required

Gale Directory Library

Searchable business directories. Titles included:

  • Brands and Their Companies
  • Business Rankings Annual
  • Consultants & Consulting Organizations Directory
  • Encyclopedia of Associations
  • Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media
  • Market Share Reporter
  • National Directory of Nonprofit Organizations
  • Publishers Directory
  • Scholarships, Fellowships and Loans
  • Ward's Business Directory of U.S. Private and Public Companies
  •  
Library card required

Gale eBooks

24/7 access to reference ebooks. No checkout necessary. Titles can be browsed, searched, and downloaded anytime from any Internet-connected device. Topics include arts, business, education, history, law, literature, medicine, religion, science, and social science.

Library card required

Gale OneFile: Entrepreneurship

Customized selection of journals from the New York State Online Virtual Library database collection relating to small business.

Free & accessible anywhere in NY state

globalEDGE

A knowledge web-portal that connects international business professionals to information, insights, and resources on global business activities, created by the International Business Center at Michigan State University.

 

Free & accessible anywhere

GuideStar by Candid

Access information on over 2 million nonprofits where you can donate, work, volunteer, or seek out services. Nonprofits can update their profiles and earn seals of transparency here.

Only at Central Library

HeritageQuest

Genealogical tool that includes U.S. Federal Census records, genealogical and historical sources for more than 60 countries, Census data, slave schedules, maps, local history books and articles, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant application files, and the Freedman's Bank Records 1865-1874.

Library card required

JSTOR

JSTOR offers researchers the ability to retrieve high-resolution, scanned images of journals, books, and primary sources as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. The material available spans many disciplines in the arts, sciences, and humanities.

When browsing or searching, you may find locked content. We apologize that some content is not available via Brooklyn Public Library's subscription. 

Only in library branches

LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)

LinkedIn Learning offers more than 16,000 online courses in seven languages, hosted by expert instructors with real-world experience. Courses on LinkedIn Learning include Leadership, Project Management, Mental Wellness, Job Hunting, Digital Marketing, Data Science, 3D Animation, and CAD.

For Mobile users: 
1. Download the LinkedIn Learning app from Google Play / App Store 
2. Open the app 
3. Select - "Sign In" 
4. Select "Sign in with your library card" 
5. You'll be prompted to "Enter your Library ID". Tap on the box and enter "bklynlibrary" (all lowercase, no quotation marks) 
6. Use your BPL library card number or username and PIN and click on "Continue". 
First time users will be prompted to select topics of interest.

Library card required

MasterFILE Premier

Full text articles covering a broad range of subjects including general reference, business, education, health, general science and multicultural issues.

Library card required

Mergent Intellect

Access to public & private U.S. and international business data, executive contact information, First Research industry profiles, current D&B Key Business Ratios, job search, residential look-ups, and Census demographics.  To learn more about using this resource, To learn more about using this resource, check out these video tutorials:

Library card required

Mergent Online

The authoritative source for information on US companies listed on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ exchanges, non-US companies representing 95% of the non-US global market capitalization, and inactive companies which have been merged, acquired etc. Also includes up to 30 years of financials, up to 30 years of daily stock pricing, over 300,000 scanned images of global annual reports archived up to 10 years.  

Library card required

Mintel Reports Academic

Market research reports with analysis of consumer markets, companies, and brands.   

Unfortunately, the vendor restricts this resource to "view-only". You may not print or download from Mintel.

Only at Central Library

New York State Contract Reporter

Lists New York State bidding opportunities for contracts greater than $15,000. 

Free & accessible anywhere

Plunkett Research Online

Market research, industry analysis and company profiles; Job seeker resources

To learn more about using this resource, check out this video tutorial.

Library card required

Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)

Business, physician, dentist, and residential directory listings; job postings; data for entrepreneurs to research target customers, competitors and suppliers. To learn more about using this resource, check out this video tutorial.

Library card required

Rich Register

Net worth and biographical information of Americans with estimated net worth of $25 million or more.   (This resource is accessible via username and password at the Central Library.  See a librarian.)

Only at Central Library

RKMA Consumer Market Research

Richard K. Miller & Associates publishes handbooks focused on marketing and the consumer marketplace. Each handbook includes market assessments and forecasts, sector trends, profiles of market leaders, and statistics. Industries include the internet & mobile web, entertainment, media & advertising, healthcare, restaurants, food & beverage, retail, sports, and travel.

Library card required

SimplyAnalytics

Demographic, business, and marketing data on a local level; users may create reports and maps with hundreds of demographic, business and marketing variables. 

Remote access to SimplyAnalytics is available to anyone within Kings County (Brooklyn) with a Brooklyn Public Library card. Exceptions to remote access content are below:

  • PRIZM Premier behavioral marketing & audience segments and Nielsen Scarborough local market research are only available to users on-site at any Brooklyn Public Library location. PRIZM and Scarborough data is not available to remote users.
  • On-site users will sign in to SimplyAnalytics with their BPL card number and PIN. Remote users will sign in to SimplyAnalytics with an email address and password. First-time remote users must follow the "Create an Account" link. You may have on-site and remote SimplyAnalytics accounts but these accounts are NOT connected. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Library card required

Sourcing Journal

Sister publication to WWD, covers the fashion production pipeline, concentrating on sourcing and manufacturing (May be accessed by 3 simultaneous users. If you are denied access, please try back at another time.)

Only in library branches

Sports Market Analytics

SBRnet and the Sports Market Analytics Data Platform are a comprehensive online platform of nationwide sports business data and analytics, using syndicated and custom proprietary research for the professional and college sports categories as well as sports participation and equipment sales information. Data is driven from consumer research, industry reports, and licensed industry articles. Topics include:

  • · Sports Fan Demographics
  • · Attendance
  • · Television Viewing
  • · Streaming Media
  • · Social Media Usage
  • · Logo Merchandise Sales
  • · Sponsorship Influence
  • · Sports Participation
  • · Fitness Participation
  • · Sports Gambling
  • · Sports Travel
  • · Collectibles
  • · Device Usage
  • · Fantasy Sports Play
  • · Consumer categories: Sports Drinks, Homeowners Insurance, Driver’s Insurance, Cell Phone Carrier, Banking, Credit Cards, Hotel/Motel, Air Travel and Quick Service Restaurant.


On the SMA log-in page, enter only your library card number. The username and password fields are auto-populated by the vendor.

Library card required

Statista

Quantitative data categorized into 21 market sectors such as media, business, finance, and politics. To learn more about using this resource, check out this video tutorial

Library card required

The Salesman's Guide

The Salesman's Guide Retail Buyers Database is for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking national buyers for their products in business categories like fashion, specialty foods, home furnishings, and more. Find and download contact information for store buyers.

Only in library branches

Winmo

Previously known as Redbooks, Winmo provides background on advertisers - their brands, media spending, campaigns, and contacts, and detailed profiles of advertising agencies - their clients, market specialization, and contacts.

Library card required

WWD Archive

Fashion and beauty business news and key trends from 1994 through today from WWD, “the fashion bible”. For retailers, designers, manufacturers, marketers, financiers, Wall Street analysts, international moguls, media executives, ad agencies, socialites, and trend-makers. (May be accessed by 3 simultaneous users. If you are denied access, please try back at another time.)

Only in library branches