Midweek's research: Entrepreneur blogging and business library services

Today I focus on blogs as information sources, with the goal of extending the argument that library professionals need to see and adopt blogs as an important part of their collection development in order to provide online information services to start-ups and small and medium enterprises.


In Technorati's State of the Blogosphere 2011 report:

13% of the blogosphere is characterized as entrepreneurs [i.e. N=526 of 4,114 bloggers around the world], or individuals blogging for a company or organization they own. 84% of these bloggers blog primarily about the industry they work in, with 46% blogging about business and 40% about technology. 76% blog to share expertise; 70% blog to gain professional recognition; and 68% to attract new clients for their business.

Read more: http://technorati.com/social-media/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2011-introduction/#ixzz1uy7c4uTI


I also discovered one of the most recent book with a section/chapter that outlines the services that libraries have been offering to businesses including small and local businesses:

Title    The basic business library [electronic resource] : core resources and services.

Edition    5th ed. / Eric Forte and Michael Oppenheim, editors

Publisher    Santa Barbara, Calif. : Libraries Unlimited, c2012.

Chapter 10 entitled "Business reference: Advice and Strategy for Serving today's Business Users" by Lousie Klusek distills the many ways public and academic libraries have been attempting to serve and provide services to business persons, including local small business operators and entrepreneurs. Of particular interest in the business advisory services on pages (190 -191). Very good stuff here.