Most of us visited a public library long before we set foot in an academic library. While in many cases we first associate public libraries with entertainment and personal enrichment, many public libraries provide access to the same or similar business databases as academic libraries, which can be used for entrepreneurship and business research.
The state of Ohio is graced with many excellent public library districts. In most cases, you only need to be a resident of the state or work here to qualify for a free library card. This research guide is meant to document the business database holdings of the major public library systems in Ohio.
Please email me at b.c.richards@csuohio.edu if you have a question, suggestion, or spot information in need of correction.
Library card information
Databases by subject
Business databases include:
Business Source Premier
First Research
Hoover’s Online
IBISWorld (In library only)
Mergent Intellect
Morningstar
Small Business Reference Center
Weiss Financial Ratings
Library card information
Business databases
Business databases include:
Business – Gale Virtual Reference Library
Business Insights : Essentials
Business Source Premier
Conference Board
Economist Historical Archive (1843-2006)
Encyclopedia of Small Business
Financial Times Historical Archive (1888-2010)
Kompass
Mergent Archives
Mergent Online
Mergent Intellect
Morningstar
Reference USA
Regional Business News
Small Business Reference Center
SRDS
S&P Capital IQ NetAdvantage
Wall Street Journal
Library card information
Databases by subject
Business databases include:
Business Source Premier
DemographicsNow
Mergent Archives
Mergent Intellect
Mergent Key Business Ratios
NewsBank
Small Business Reference Center
Library card information
Business databases
Business databases include:
Business Insights Global
Business Source Complete
Demographics Now
​Mergent Archives
Mergent Intellect
Morningstar
Reference USA
S&P Global NetAdvantage
Library card information
Business databases
Business databases include:
Business NewsBank
Business Source Premier
Cincinnati Business Courier
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Mergent Archives
Mergent Online
Morningstar
Reference USA
Small Business Reference Center
Library card information
Databases by subject
Business databases include
Business Source Premier
Mergent Intellect
Morningstar
Gale Virtual Reference Library
Small Business Reference Center
Standard & Poor’s NetAdvantage
ReferenceUSA
Value Line
Wall Street Journal
Library card information
Business databases
Business databases include:
A To Z Databases
Business Source Premier
Morningstar
Reference USA Business
Small Business Reference Center
Library card information
Business databases
Business databases include:
Broker Check
Business Source Premier
D&B Hoovers
Fund Analyzer by FINRA
Mergent Archives
Mergent Intellect
Morningstar
Plunkett Research
Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA)
Wall Street Journal
Value Line