Yesterday I visited the intellectual property collection at Birmingham Public Library, one of the PATLIB centres.
PATLIB consists of libraries in the UK which provide help in searching for patents, trade marks and designs, and which also help in other ways related to intellectual property rights. There are lots of databases out there on the Web but it's difficult for novices to know how to get the best out of them, or how to interpret the results.
Matthew Jelfs, one of their librarians, explained to me about the extensive effort that they make in providing seminars and making visits. They do not restrict what they do to the West Midlands, either. Over 130 people have attended their seminars in the past 12 months. They have private cubicles with a PC in them, so that inventors can explain their ideas in private to a librarian and watch a search being carried out for them. There is also an extensive and active business library up the staircase.
Like the other PATLIB libraries, much of what they do is free of charge. The British Library is also a member of the system. Contact details of all the libraries are available on the Web, and it is always best to telephone to ask if an appointment is necessary, as visitors are likely to get a lot more out of it then.
The reason I was in Birmingham was that some of us were attending the World of Learning Awards 2008. Sadly, we didn't win our category, E-learning Solution of the Year. This was the free intellectual property courses we provide which people can work through on the Internet, a collaboration with Nelson Croom. Quite a few people have signed up but there's room for plenty more on the web site.
I spent the rest of yesterday exploring some of Birmingham's rich industrial heritage of canals, factories and warehouses.
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