E-Magazine
Case Study: British Library Business & IP Centre
Although more commonly known for its academic credentials, in March 2006 the British Library launched a new service designed to help entrepreneurs and small businesses use the Library’s immense resources to research their business ideas. Three years on the Library’s Business & IP Centre has achieved extraordinary success, providing access to vital information and business advice for over 100,000 people, with demand for services at an all time high as the UK’s entrepreneurs look to climb their way out of the recession.
Traditionally used by businesses as a resource for patent research, with the rise of freely accessible web-based patent databases in the 1990s and early 2000s, the British Library began to experience a significant decline in the number of business users. Although business research continued at a low level, it was really only academics and the occasional entrepreneur, who, more by luck than anything else, discovered the true treasure trove of information available. Offering users access to thousands of company reports, countless subscription only databases, and over £5 million worth of market research material, the British Library’s business collections are a unique resource, but to maximise use of the material and help stimulate innovation in the UK the Library had to raise awareness amongst the SME community.
Taking inspiration from the Science, Industry & Business Library (SIBL) in Manhattan, a dedicated research facility for small businesses based in New York, in 2002 the British Library approached the London Development Agency (LDA) for funding to establish a similar project in London. With £1 million from the LDA a consultation exercise was carried out with both existing and potential customers to establish exactly what sort of services entrepreneurs were looking for. Recognising that being an entrepreneur can be quite a lonely existence the British Library redeveloped its Business Reading Room incorporating an informal networking area and a number of workshop rooms, creating a bespoke space for SMEs to meet and conduct research.
To help users navigate their way around this new purpose built facility, a number of information specialists were brought in offering specialist expertise on conducting research and providing in-depth advice on intellectual property and on how to protect ideas. In support of these core services the Business & IP Centre also teamed up with a variety of partners, including high-profile entrepreneurs such as former BBC Dragons Rachel Elnaugh and Doug Richard, to provide a comprehensive programme of events, workshops, and one-to-one advice sessions covering all the basics of business, from researching markets and developing business plans, to marketing and managing finance. More recently, Spinder Dhaliwal gave a talk about her book, Making a Fortune – Learning from the Asian Phenomenon supported by Sir GK Noon to a packed audience.
The initial successes of the Business & IP Centre led to £2.4 million of additional funding from the LDA at the end of 2007, which has helped the Business & IP Centre go from strength to strength. This support has enable the delivery of over 2000 support sessions, offering direct advice, guidance and training for 20,000 entrepreneurs, and helped the Library raise awareness of this important source of information amongst the SME community. With the percentage of unemployed users and those recently made redundant doubling over the last 12 months, the Business & IP Centre looks set to continue playing a vital role, helping enterprising individuals develop new skills and take on the credit crunch.
