At the suggestion of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), SIBL recently hosted a lively orientation for NYC-based foreign trade commissioners and their staff. The attendees learned effective and efficient ways to mine business-to-business (B2B) contacts from online business directories accessible at NYPL's Science, Industry and Business Library.

Trade commission staff from Belgium, Chile, U. K., Netherlands, Croatia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Finland, The Turkish Republic, and Canada accepted the invitation from Nancy Ploeger and Shirley Leung, MCC’s president and economic development director, respectively. A follow-up survey a few days later showed that attendees found the session highly useful. Here’s why:

Each of the online resources featured at the demonstration does something different.

Reference USA, an electronic business directory with detailed data on 14 million U. S. companies, provides trade representatives with prospective partners for their home clients. One Source, an international business “module” of Reference USA, leads to potential partners on a global scale. (Access is through Reference USA, accessible on site at SIBL)

First Research is a gold mine of trends, forecasts, and profiles for hundreds of industries.

Emerging Markets aggregates company and industry information, market research, news, and more in the original language of each developing country.

You don’t need a special invitation to use any of these resources at SIBL — access is free to anyone who visits the Library. Visit the database workstations in SIBL's Electronic Information Center (EIC), or access the databases on your own laptop. In addition to hands on assistance from roving staff, SIBL offers training sessions and business seminars on a regular basis. If you’re looking for business leads, or potential business partners here in the U.S. or in other countries, just plan a visit to SIBL. Odds are you’ll find what you need!