Sorkins Directory of Business & Government

Sorkins is a terrific source of region-specific information for business and can be accessed at a library reference computer or at home through our website, http://www.slpl.org/slpl/library/article240098943.asp.

One of our favorite bits is the Current STL Leads, which identifies new businesses, expansions, remodeling, and changes of ownership (with a separate set of listings for restaurants) on a bi-weekly basis.

Another nice feature is the Who Uses Whom search - you can search for particular banking facilities, law or accounting firms, advertising agencies, property casualty insurance, and life & health insurance - and see what companies use their services.

Business News Roundup

James Patterson is making grants to 81 independent bookstores, and Left Bank Books is one of them (via St Louis Business Journal).


Do you speak Start Up? A glossary of terms, via Tech Crunch.


UP Global is hosting a Startup Weekend Education in January 2015 that will focus on fostering ideas to improve education in the St Louis region (via Tech Cocktail St Louis)


Interesting people doing interesting things in St. Louis - are you listening to the Strange House Podcast (a collaboration between Strange Donuts and Treehouse Networkshop) yet?

Book Review: Think Twice

Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition by Michael J. Mauboussin, 190 pages

Everybody makes hundreds of little decisions every day, and a lot of times everything pans out just fine, whether the decisions are good or bad. But sometimes there are big decisions, with major consequences. In Think Twice, Mauboussin urges us to look at these big decisions in ways that are against our natural instincts. Don't think that just because someone has been winning it's safe to bet on them winning again; nor is it necessarily a good idea to ditch a stock of a company that's performing poorly.

Unlike most business books, Mauboussin avoids offering up a formula of how to succeed. Instead, he focuses on critical thinking, often times illustrating his points with non-business situations, including sports and psychological studies. Occasionally, he veers a bit too far toward the academic, but in general, Mauboussin offers up an engaging read. Fans of Malcolm Gladwell (who is cited several times in this book) will appreciate this one.

The St Louis Business Ecosystem

There really are a ton of resources in St Louis if you're looking to start a business. Here's a terrific visualization of the St Louis community partners in the field of Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and how they relate to immigrant entrepreneurs, used with permission from the St Louis Mosaic Project

Intellectual Property - What is it?

Intellectual property is often a mist, something that the non-attorney person frequently does not understand. So we ask ourselves, what exactly is intellectual property? After talking to several patent and trademark attorneys, and checking legal dictionaries, I discovered that an excellent definition of intellectual property can be found at the web site of the World Intellectual Property Organization.

According to World Intellectual Property Organization:

"Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

IP is protected in law by, for example, patents, copyright and trademarks, which enable people to earn recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or create. By striking the right balance between the interests of innovators and the wider public interest, the IP system aims to foster an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish."

Inventors know that only a handful of people know the chemical formula of the popular drink Coca-Cola. By keeping this formula a secret, much money can be saved. Attorneys are not needed. This secrecy of an invention is called a trade secret.

To learn more about intellectual property, take a look of the web site for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). 

Visit our Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC), which is located in the Central Library,  to learn more about free workshops offered throughout the year at our Central Library. Guest attorneys lecture at these workshops, thus, offering free legal advice. To see when workshops are offered, check the events link on the PTRC blog or phone our PTRC at (314) 539-0390.

Local Business News Roundup

Feds reveal another site in the running for the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency - this time in Metro-East (via St Louis Business Journal)


Missouri Bill has been filed that could protect employee social media passwords from employers (via Columbia Tribune)


Samuel A Wickline, MD, selected to receive the Washington University Chancellors Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship for his work with nanomedicine (via Washington University Newsroom)