Our names are Lauren & Laura and we are both Business and Reference Information Service Officers for Gloucestershire Libraries. We both work for a service called Ask Us and this has two separate components, the first deals with business enquiries, and the second looks after general reference and information enquiries.
Ask Us Business & PATLIB Centre
With regards to our business offer, we provide two services which may be of interest to anyone who is looking to start or grow their own business. Firstly, Gloucestershire Libraries subscribe to Fame this is a comprehensive business database which contains information on both public and private companies in the UK and Ireland. Using Fame, we can create targeted mailing lists so this may be useful if you are researching local competition and want to know what already exists in the market or if you are looking to target new markets. For example, if someone was looking to approach coffee shops we can send them a list of coffee shops in their chosen geographical area e.g. Gloucester, Cheltenham or Gloucestershire. We export this data into a spreadsheet and our standard spreadsheet contains information including company name, address, telephone number, email address, website and a contact for each one if known. Fame is accessible via the Public Library computers at Gloucester Library or through ourselves here at Ask Us. We can also assist with general business enquiries and have links with Gloucestershire Growth Hub for those who want to grow their business.
Secondly, Gloucestershire Libraries is a member of PATLIB UK which is a growing network of regional patent information centres supported by the Intellectual Property Office, the aim of each PATLIB centre is to encourage entrepreneurs and businesses to identify and protect their Intellectual Property. Through the PATLIB service, clients can access a wealth of information and signposting regarding copyright, trademarks, designs and patents. We also have links with a local IP firm who are able to provide pro-bono information to any of our clients who may require more in-depth guidance.
Please do follow our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ask-us-business-gloucester-patlib/?
Ask Us Reference and Enquiry Service
You may be interested to know that we also provide a reference and enquiry service where customers can ask us any question and we can either answer the enquiry, help them get started with research or refer them to the most relevant organisation or person to help with the query. All of the services we provide are free, with the aim of providing an authoritative enquiry service. We generally respond to enquiries within three to five working days but frequently we can provide the information needed immediately or same-day.
The Ask Us service is available to anyone who lives works or studies in Gloucestershire or lives in a county adjacent to Gloucestershire.
