A Free Library of Philadelphia library card is available at no cost to anyone who lives, works, pays taxes, or goes to school in the City of Philadelphia. In addition, anyone who lives in the state of Pennsylvania can obtain a Free Library card without charge.
The Free Library of Philadelphia has additional resources for company research including:
International Directory of Company Histories
Comprehensive histories of 8,500 of the world's largest and most influential companies.
Histories include company development and background; merger and acquisition history; impact of sales and marketing campaigns; effectiveness of executive leadership; expansions and strategies; labor/management actions; stock exchanges, ticker symbols, and industries; and principal subsidiaries, divisions, operating units, and competitors.
Information is sourced from publicly accessible data as well as materials supplied by the companies themselves.
The Free Library's business databases include:
Business Insights: Global (Company and industry profiles, SWOT reports, market share reports, analyst reports, and financial reports including financial ratios. Also, company histories from the International Directory of Company Histories, industry essays, case studies, and articles from scholarly journals and business news sources.)
OneSource: D&B Business Browser Pro (public and private companies, international coverage, includes analyst reports)
ReferenceUSA (U.S. and Canadian companies)
[these databases are accessible in branches and online with a library card]
The Free Library's Parkway Central branch at 1901 Vine Street features the Business Resource & Innovation Center (BRIC) and the Regional Foundation Center, which focuses on the nonprofit sector.