L.A. Public Library Can Help
If you’ve got a tough research problem and are willing to pay to have it solved, you might try the Los Angeles County Public Library’s FYI service (https://colapublib.org). It offers fee-based research and document delivery along with 200 standardized information products, according to Steve Coffman, director of FYI.
“We get 40 to 50 product orders a day,” Coffman says. “People from New York and Saudi Arabia order from us. These people would never have known we existed without the Internet.”
Trademark searches ($125) are one of the most frequent requests. Other popular products include People Locator ($20), Who Makes What ($20) and demographics ($25 to $30).
FYI also offers Government Information Services to officials and employees of cities served by the Los Angeles Public Library, in most cases free of charge.
You can make research requests by e-mailing FYI at its Web site, by visiting one of the county’s 88 branches (locations are listed on the library’s Web page) or by calling (800) 582-1093.
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