The Business Collection serves more than just the business community. Individual investors keep themselves financially informed through the many financial periodicals and subscription services the library maintains. The library has also tried to provide services for beginning investors who prefer to learn in a class or a seminar setting. By working with companies such as American Express and Prudential Securities Inc., the Burton Barr Library has co-sponsored a number of financial seminars to help patrons learn the fundamentals of retirement planning and investing. To enable patrons to get the most from the library's electronic resources, frequent computer classes are held.
Basic classes empower individuals to use the online catalog, and magazine and newspaper indexes.
Basic Computer Skills introduces patrons to the use of a computer mouse and keyboard. Navigation of the World Wide Web familiarizes patrons with basic Web navigational tools and the concept of URLs, shows them how to conduct concise searching using World Wide Web search engines, and teaches patrons to evaluate Web sites. Specialized Internet classes are also available on investments, business information, finding a job, health, and government information. In each specialized class, students are introduced to key sites on that subject and to successful search strategies for the subject. The Burton Barr Library has worked to become a key business and financial information resource for the community.