New York SBDC Research Network

A popular source for the status of a bill pending in Congress is Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet . Named for our third President, Thomas Jefferson, it is also a repository for the Congressional Record going back to 1989, and Public Laws going back to 1973. One can search bills by committee, by a word or phrase, or, if you have it, the bill number. One thing to keep in mind: when you see citations to a numbered Congress, such as the 109th Congress, it refers to the two-year period between the swearings in of a new Congress. The 109th Congress coves 2005 and 2006, the 108th Congress covered 2003 and 2004, and so forth. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is where you will find the rules of the Cabinet departments and other executive agencies of the Federal Government. There are 50 volumes that are updated annually; the first 16 on January 1st, Titles 17-27 on April 1st, Titles 28-41 on July 1st, and Titles 42-50 on October 1st. The CFR that covers the Small Business

As you know, the Research Network has taken it upon itself to enter the research time into the new WebMQS that it expends on behalf of clients. It saves work for the advisor, and serves as a management tool for the library. Because of this, advisors will not see "Research Network" or "Central Library" in any drop-down menu at their disposal. However, we've lately noticed that some advisors assign the time spent in phoning or e-mailing an information request (usually 0.1 or 0.2 hours) to the case record. We know this because an attempt is made to assign this time specifically to the Research Network. Since there's no "Research Network" option in any drop-down menus, some advisors assign this time to existing choices (such as "National Library" or "Albany SBDC Assistance") that haven't earned it. The proper procedure when communicating with the Research Network for a specific client is to enter the expended time under Prep ho

Starting with the basics, what does copyright actually protect? Copyright protects "original works of authorship including literary , dramatic , musical , and artistic works , such as poetry , novels , movies , songs , computer software , and architecture . Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed." If there is no copyright symbol, is a work still protected? Assume that a work is protected unless you have clear evidence that it's in the public domain. U.S. law does not require the copyright symbol © to be posted. Can I freely use information that I found on the web? "The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright." See Copyright Registration for Online Works . Am I allowed to e-mail an article to my co-workers or post it on the Internal we

Inventors…a topic near and dear to us all. If you’ve come to us on behalf of an inventor, you may have seen these sources. You may appreciate them for reinforcing any realism you may be trying to encourage. The Patent Café – Inventors’ Café Offers a step by step look at the process of getting a product to market including patent information and a bit on scams to beware of. They are selling something – inventor’s journals, and starter kit but there is a nice brief summary of the process and a good links page. http://www.patentcafe.com/ The Entrepreneur Network (TEN) Not to be confused with Entrepreneur Magazine, this site is very good from the point of view of offering advice to the absolute beginner. They are a program of the Zimmer Foundation and are affiliated with SCORE (though they do give SBDCs a plug on their site). This site includes a lot of very good articles on every aspect of inventing and book reviews and also includes a list of inventor evaluation services. http://tenonli

There is great information available on the pages of the U.S. Census Bureau , down to the smallest hamlet. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get Census data for the neighborhoods of New York City, such as Greenpoint/Williamsburg in Brooklyn, Lower East Side/Chinatown in Manhattan, or Elmhurst/Corona in Queens from the Census page, because they are not considered "real" entities. You COULD look at some maps and try to combine Census blocks (tedious) or use ZIP Codes (very imprecise). The best solution is to use the page from the New York City Planning Department . It defines 59 community districts, including 12 in the Bronx, 18 in Brooklyn, 12 in Manhattan, 14 in Queens, and 3 in Staten Island. In other words, the City Planning Department has taken Census data and has done the complicated neighborhood statistical calculations for you. In addition to demographic data, the district profiles include land use data, "public and private schools, parks, public safety, health, me

Every blue moon, an advisor will call the Research Network looking for a "D&B report" for this company or that. A comprehensive D&B credit report costs $130 (though they offer other reports, with less information, for fewer dollars). However, we just learned of an alternative worth exploring. Experian - one of the three main credit reporting agencies in the U.S. - offers on their Web site what they call Smart Business Reports . At this page, you can view their sample reports. Their deluxe model (called "ProfilePlus") offers much of the same information found in D&B's comprehensive report, including: business history credit summary (including credit score) average amount owed each month monthly payment trends an itemized list of recent trade payments bank & insurance carrier information current leases any existing or recently-settled tax liens and UCC filings All of this can be had for just $44.95. Even better, if you run a search for a part

Each year, the employees of USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) conduct hundreds of surveys and prepare reports covering virtually every facet of U.S. agriculture -- production and supplies of food and fiber, prices paid and received by farmers, farm labor and wages, farm aspects of the industry. The New York Agricultural Statistics Service provides a link between USDA, NASS, and New York. The data can be useful for your agricultural clients writing business plans. For example, the web site contains County Brochures showing the number of farms , land area , and leading agricultural products for New York State counties (except Nassau, and NYC's 5 boroughs). You can also view special surveys for the equine breeding industry, fruit tree and vineyards , and wineries . For example, Wayne County, with 17,156 acres, remains the major producing county of apples accounting for 38 percent of the state’s apple acreage. Ulster County continued in second position

Every industry has its issues with setting prices and estimating. Particularly we get enquiries on pricing guidelines for contractors, graphic designers, crafts people and consulting services. While I strongly believe clients should be proactive enough to join their industry association through which they can usually get very sound advice on setting rates and benchmarking, I realize they often do not. Associations are a huge resource to us but more and more the best and most useful information is understandably reserved for members. Even sites that are actually trying to sell you something can still sometimes offer a few useful nuggets. As with everything, you should never rely on only one source. For example: The Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association website has a number of articles on the topic, discussing the merits of various service pricing methods. Sites such as these also often include bulletin boards where business and owners can advise each other, an informal but o

We've received a number of questions over the years about making purchasing choices that are environmentally sound. The July 2005 Consumer Reports announced a new website so consumers can have reliable information in choosing "green" products. So far, the categories are autos, appliances, home & garden, electronics, and food, with more sections to be added. The site at GreenerChoices.org , was launched, appropriately, on April 22. It also shows how you can get rid of old cell phones, computers, and other electronics. "You might even get some money for them," the article states, but most links are donation sites. You, or your environmentally-concerned clients, may also be interested in: The Green Products Alliance , a "consortium of manufacturers and marketers who make and sell extraordinarily natural personal care products." Green Seal , an "independent, non-profit organization that strives to achieve a healthier and cleaner environment by id

Roger presented information on NAICS codes at the recent staff training in Lake Placid. It was necessary because you'll need this information to enter the right code in the new WebMQS. For those who weren't at the workshop, I thought it'd be useful to pass on a search tip for finding the right NAICS code. In the new WebMQS, when you're in the "Add Initial Case" section, you'll notice that Al Scher provided a link to "Code Definitions" to the left of the "NAICS Code" field: http://www.census.gov/epcd/naics02/naico602.htm . When you click on this, you'll notice a search box in the upper right (with the phrase "Enter keyword"). Enter a word that best describes the case at hand. The results you see are those codes that use that word. (The search box is accessing a database that is the equivalent of the 400-page Alphabetic Index, found near the back of the print version of the 2002 NAICS Manual). If you don't have access to

As of June 22, 2004, all New York State residents , 18 years and older, are eligible to receive a NYS Resident's Borrower's card for the New York State Library (NYSL). This card will allow those individuals to directly borrow items from the NYS Library and to remotely access NOVEL databases . This program gives New York State residents onsite borrowing privileges; materials will not be mailed to individuals under this program. What are the NOVEL databases , you ask? Some of the same tools your librarians at the Research Network use every day: Business & Company ASAP (database of full-text articles on companies, markets and industries) Business & Company Resource Center (database of company profiles, brand information, company histories, SEC reports, and periodical articles) Business Plans Handbooks volumes 5-10 (print out sample plans in PDF format) InfoTrac Custom Newspapers (contains the New York Times from 2000 on, 7 New York newspapers and more!) This list is ju

I checked out an article entitled Population Out-Migration from Upstate New York to see how my area (Troy) was doing and was surprised to see the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area is actually growing in population. Glens Falls was the leader with Rochester in third. This is a good site for information on national and local economic indicators, particularly the newsletter, even if the news isn’t always good. Upstate New York Newsletter is published by the Buffalo branch of the Federal Reserve Bank, it covers issues like tourism, the upstate economy under NAICS, and business cycles among other statistics. Empire State Manufacturing Survey For business conditions for manufacturers in the State including business outlook. The report covers inventories, orders, delivery time, employees and shipments overall. A broad overview. The Beige Book is a report published 8 times a year with information on current conditions, including consumer spending in various industries including tourism, and commer

Statistics are provided by the state Department of Transportation at the link here . There are figures for the whole length of specific highways (file 1), and total highway mileage by counties and municipalities (file 2). The third file is for Traffic Volume Report by County. This includes interstates and state roads. There are several streets that one may not consider a state road but are considered as such by DOT. They are often designated by a three-digit route number, followed by a letter. The Harlem River Parkway in New York County is 907D; most “parkways” are numerically designated. Old Route 16 in Erie County is 951V; many “old route” numbers have new numbers. Fort Drum Access Roads #1 and #2 in Jefferson County are 971Q and 971V, respectively; access roads and service roads are often noted numerically. Even named streets are sometimes given route numbers. For instance, Wolf Road in Albany County is 910B. Albany Avenue in Ulster County has three different numbers, 981M, 983F, an

For the next few months, we're lucky to have the services of not one but two interns from the School of Information Science & Policy at the University at Albany. One is Jessica Allard, and the other is Frank Fotia. They will be here three days a week until July or so. In time, some of you will likely see their names on memos attached to research, or you might hear them take a request from you over the phone. In addition, they'll be learning the mechanics behind how we operate and manage our active business library. Both are bright and engaging people, and we look forward to learning some new tricks of the trade from them!

Here at the Research Network we often get research requests from advisers working with clients selling "upscale" products. Finding markets for such products can be a challenge. Forbes Magazine annually does an analysis of ZIP codes to find the ones where home prices were the highest last year. This year's list features three ZIP codes in New York State: #5, 11765, Mill Neck, Long Island #11, 11568, Old Westbury on Long Island #13, 10013, the neighborhood known as TriBeCa in Manhattan The complete list in an easily-printed format is available at http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/2005/04/22/cx_sc_0426homep.html?boxes=custom . Note: whether customers can afford your client's product is only one part of the equation. What will make them buy ?

We all have our own spin on things and I am no different. Everyone tends to have a type of request they favor... or not. I started my career as a librarian working in an advertising firm and so I am sympathetic to our clients who often need marketing and promotional ideas for their businesses and look to us to offer suggestions. In my travels, I have found a few sites that while not limited to a specific industry or sector are useful to all business owners. My feeling is that our clients, like most people, want advice that is easy to read and understand. There are many, many sites offering advice but these are a few you may want to check out. http://www.psychotactics.com/psycho.htm PsychoTactics: Unlocking the mystery of business brain Interesting articles on what makes us tick…and shop. Some good things for business owners to think about to help understand their customers. http://www.knowthis.com/ KnowThis: Knowledge source for marketing A good site for overview articles on marketin

As the Research Network's representative to the State Data Center, I often receive helpful hints at their meetings and on the SDC listserv. This particular hint saved me a LOT of labor: When looking for information on the American FactFinder section of the Census page, you may have need to find all of a smaller geography within a larger geography, such as all the cities in Westchester County. For many tables in the Decennial Census and the American Community Survey, such as Detailed Tables, Custom Tables, and Quick Tables, click on the Geo within Geo tab. In this example, select all the places in Westchester County. You'll get a list of CDPs (Census Designated Places), villages, and cities, all very clearly marked, and you will be able to create the data you want. Unfortunately, the Census page does not designate places by county, so this tool will keep you from pulling out a map of Westchester County, and trying to figure out which places are cities, like I did before disco

We were taught to share when we were kids. We were taught to do research when adults. The Research Network does the latter every day, uncovering useful bits of information and sending it to a specific advisor for a specific client. However, what's good for someone in, say, Jamestown ought to be good for someone in Plattsburgh, or Farmingdale, or at any of our centers. Recognizing this, the Research Network has created this blog as a way to inform the New York SBDC community on the kinds of things we encounter every day: interesting books, useful Web sites, articles we come across . . . anything that INFORMS. Come back often - if you can't visit every day, the postings will be archived by subject for future reference. Also, feel free to respond to a posting - there's a lot we can learn from you, too. There'll be a new posting every Monday through Thursday! Be well, and don't forget to share.