To follow up on a comment I posted in Lightbulb's diary, I just wanted to point out that the public library and its librarians are an occasionally underused resource for information in many areas. Many public libraries these days have "for pay" services for businesses or people who want very specialized help, but most services/resources at the public library are free to library card holders.
I know that many people probably know this, but it doesn't hurt to repeat it, 'cause there might be someone out there who sees this and the lightbulb goes on ("oh, I can get that at the library!").
Librarians can provide help in how to search for information on the web (if you're stumped regarding how to find something on the web, call and ask a librarian for help! How could you be worse off, even if they say they don't know...?). Librarians can also make you aware of additional resources that may be available in your local library -- both in person or online. Many libraries nowadays provide access to various journal/news/directory databases online for registered library card holders.
I have done lots of research for my husband's business through the databases available from my local libraries. (Disclaimer: I am a librarian, altho my job currently is not in a library -- but it's in the information industry.) Online searching, through proprietary dbs, has in the past been one of my specialties, altho nowadays it's more for personal/hubby's business use than as part of my job.
However, the online and in person resources at the local public library are available to ALL library card-holders -- often you can access them directly from the library's webpage, from home. If you have questions about them, call the library and they'll have people whose job it is to help you get started. :-)
If you don't have a library card, get one. They're free and they give you access to so much more than "just" books, these days ("Just" is in quotes, because I use my public library for books all the time -- I try not to buy books, both because of cost and because of storage space... :-)
If you don't know if your local library provides resources for you to use online, ask! I'll bet you that they do. Even when you think that what you want won't be available at the public library, ask. They have more than you think, and when they don't have what you need, they often know where you can go to get it. Not everything is available to you, but more is available than most people even know.