Business, Finance, & Legal

Featured Online Resources

AtoZdatabases: Job, Business, People Search

Find a job, find a person, find a business! A job search, white pages, and mailing list database that searches more than 30 million businesses and executives, 7 million jobs, 220 million residents, and 7.9 million healthcare professionals. Ideal for sales leads, mailing lists, market research, employment opportunities, finding friends and relatives, and much more!


Global Issues in Context

Integrates news, global viewpoints, reference materials, country information, primary source documents, videos, statistics, and more in a single search with a global perspective.


Global Road Warrior

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the 175+ countries around the world. Useful for business travelers, tourists, and students. Topics for each country include society and culture, travel essentials, business culture, communications, traditions, and even includes recipes for ethnic dishes.


Leadership and Management

https://assets.cengage.com/gale/icons/pprf-web.png Gale OneFile: Leadership and Management Provides access to authoritative periodical content covering topics as diverse as 21st century skills, learning disorders, standardized testing, home schooling and more. Updated daily, this resource is useful for researchers or any professional educators interested in professional development.


Massachusetts Legal Forms Library

Gale LegalForms: Massachusetts Legal Forms Library offers a wide selection of essential state-specific (and multi-state) legal forms that may be customized for the most common legal procedures. These forms are used by attorneys and law firms. Includes real estate contracts, wills, premarital agreements, bankruptcy, divorce, landlord tenant, and many others.


Massachusetts Municipal Guide

A statewide listing of municipalities by county, state and regional contact information for a variety of government departments and services for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Includes addresses and contacts for elected and appointed officials from the local level to the U.S. Congress.


Niche Academy: Online Learning

Tutorials created by staff in Chelmsford and libraries across the country, focusing on educational topics across a variety of subjects: business, finance, evaluating online information, health, research skills, and more. Click into any tutorial for a step-by-step guide, with text, graphic, and video instructions. We also take suggestions for new tutorials!


Social Law Library (available in library)

Ask at Reference Desk for login
In-Library Access: http://www.socialaw.com/account/librarylogin

Collection of Massachusetts court and state agency decisions from the Social Law Library’s legal research databases; provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.


 

Print Materials

Periodicals

  • Barron’s – Current year only: Periodicals Room
  • Banker & Tradesman – Current year only. Periodicals Room
  • Economist – Current year only: Periodicals Room
  • Forbes – Current year only: Periodicals Room
  • Kiplingers Personal Finance – Current year only: Periodicals Room
  • Money – Current year only: Periodicals Room
  • Wall Street Journal – Last 2 months. Newspaper Room

Non-Fiction & Reference Books

Business-related print resources are shelved in both the Non-Fiction (available to check out) and Reference (not available to check out) collections, according to the Dewey Decimal System. Our catalog is available for searching, but general topics can also be found by browsing the shelf:

  • 174.4 – Business Ethics
  • 331 – Human Resources
  • 332 – Finance
  • 336.2 – Business Income Tax
  • 338.9 – Economics
  • 346.07 – Business Law
  • 657 – Accounting
  • 658 – Business Management
  • 659 – Advertising

 

Additional Online Resources

Business Resources:

  • Boston Public Library’s Kirstein Business Branch – a specialized business reference and research service of the Boston Public Library located in a separate building near Boston’s financial district
  • Business Dictionary: Find definitions and explanations for business terminology.
  • Center for Women & Enterprise: A non-profit organization dedicated to helping people start and grow their business. While CWE’s primary focus is on women entrepreneurs, anyone can take advantage of their classes, trainings, and services.
  • MA Export Center: Offers a full range of targeted, customized services to Massachusetts businesses at any stage in the export process. Get help and resources for bringing your business to global marketplaces.
  • MA Procurement Technical Assistance Center: MA PTAC can guide you through the government procurement process and provide you with information on how to become more competitive in the government marketplace.
  • MA Small Business Development Center Northeast Regional Office: Provides free and confidential business assistance to prospective and existing small businesses located in the North Shore and Merrimack Valley areas of the state.
  • SBA Ascent: A free online learning platform for women entrepreneurs.
  • SBA Learning Platform: A free online platform where you can learn how to plan, launch, manage, market, and grow your business.
  • SBA Lender Match: An online platform helping to match you with lenders who can provide financing and loans for your business.
  • SBA Massachusetts District Office: Find local trainings and workshops or download their resource guide for free. All services are free and confidential.
  • Score Northeast Massachusetts: Find a mentor, take a workshop, or browse their business resources for free online. All services are free and confidential.
  • Veteran’s Business Outreach Center: VBOC equips veteran and active duty service members and their families with the resources to help them start and run their businesses. They provide counseling, training, and mentoring, among other services. VBOC New England is operated by the Center for Women & Enterprise.

Legal Resources:

  • Avvo: Ask free legal questions, create forms, and find lawyers. Avvo also contains a number of free Q&A articles, so you can see answers to common questions.
  • Civil Legal Aid for Victims of Crime Initiative – CLAVC helps victims of crime throughout Massachusetts with their related civil legal problems — including family law, housing, immigration, disability rights, child welfare, education, consumer, identity theft, employment rights and public benefits.
  • COVID Eviction Legal Help Project: CELHP will provide referrals, legal information, assistance and legal representation in Housing Court, and where capacity allows in District Courts and for tenants at risk of losing their subsidized housing. The goal of representation is to achieve housing stability.
  • Legal Dictionary At Law.com: Search for definitions of legal terms or conduct a search for definitions that contain specific words.
  • Lowell Law Library – Located in the Superior Courthouse at 360 Gorham St. in Lowell (phone 978-452-9301), the law library staff is available to help public Mon-Fri 8:30-4:15. Lowell Law Library is part of the Trial Court Law Libraries of Massachusetts. You cans ee other locations and chat with a law librarian online through their website.
  • Martindale Law Directory: Find a lawyer by practice area (business, criminal, divorce, etc.) or by city or state. This link takes you directly to the Massachusetts directory.
  • MA FreeLegalAnswers.org – Anyone who qualifies for this service can ask volunteer attorneys a specific question about your civil legal issue
  • Massachusetts Legal Forms – MA legal forms compiled by the Trial Court Law Libraries
  • Mass Senior Legal Helpline – (phone: 800-342-5297) The helpline is for people 60 years or older in need of legal help. They provide free legal help and referral services. The helpline is available Mon-Fri from 9AM-12PM.
  • Massachusetts Legal Resource Finder: A directory of free or low-cost legal services funded by government grants. Most programs in the directory are aimed at low income or elderly clients.  There is a list of Bar Referral Services that will give you contact information for specific attorneys, but you may need to pay those attorneys for their services. There are also links to legal information created by legal services programs, government agencies and other not-for-profit entities.
  • Middlesex Mediation Services: Middlesex Mediation provides free mediation services to residents and businesses of the following towns and cities: Ashby, Ayer, Billerica, Burlington, Dracut, Dunstable, Chelmsford, Groton, Littleton, Lowell, Lunenburg, N. Reading, Pepperell, Reading, Shirley, Tewksbury, Tyngsboro, Westford, Wilmington, and Woburn. If you live outside of these communities, they can direct you to a mediation service near you. To obtain mediation services or to ask questions about the program, please call 978-656-3342 and ask for the Mediation Coordinator or email mediation@middlesex.mass.edu.
  • Northeast Legal Aid: NLA offers free civil legal services to low income and elderly individuals nd families in northeast Massachusetts. NLA has full-service offices in Lynn, Lowell and Lawrence, Massachusetts. NLA has an outreach office in Haverhill, Massachusetts with limited hours. NLA’s legal services include everything from community legal education and counsel and advice, to full representation in complex litigation.
  • Rental Lease – Free MA legal forms, especially rental agreements
  • Veterans Legal Services: VLS provides free civil legal aid for veterans that honors their service, promotes well-being, and responds to their distinctive needs. Services are limited to veterans whose income is at or below 300% of federal poverty level, and are provided at no cost.

Personal Financial Resources:

  • Consumer.gov – A government website that helps consumers learn to manage and use money wisely, use credit and loans carefully, and protect your identity and money
  • ConsumerFinance.gov – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is a U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat you fairly

Tax Resources:

  • AARP Tax-Aide Location Finder: AARP offers free in-person tax services. Their website details the service and has a locator to find a local preparer.
  • Directory of Federal Tax Return Preparers: This searchable directory lists preparers in your area who currently hold professional credentials recognized by the IRS or who hold an Annual Filing Season Program Record of Completion.
  • File Free Online:
  • Get Your Refund: This site offers tax filing services for free by partnering with VITA sites to help families earning less than $66,000 per year.
  • IRS Interactive Tax Assistant: The Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA) is a tool that provides answers to several tax law questions specific to your individual circumstances. Based on your input, it can determine if you have to file a tax return, your filing status, if you can claim a dependent, if the type of income you have is taxable, if you’re eligible to claim a credit, or if you can deduct expenses.
  • IRS Tax Withholding Estimator – The IRS suggests that taxpayers check their withholding yearly and make adjustments as needed. The new estimator also factors in self-employment and retirement income.
  • IRS Telephone Assistance: The IRS has a telephone assistance line. For individuals the number is 800-829-1040. Check the guidelines on their website before calling, as you will have to prove your identity. They also clearly list out the things they are able and unable to help with by phone.
  • MA Tax Help Locator: Find free or low cost tax preparation services in Massachusetts.
  • Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Locator: The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free tax help for taxpayers who qualify. Find a provider near your zip code, or call 800-906-9887.