Government information about intellectual property is now much more accessible to residents of west central Illinois. This month, a new Patent and Trademark Resource Center opened at Western Illinois University in Macomb.
Coordinator, Chuck Malone, says a few years ago, the state library in Springfield gave up its designation as a resource center. So the WIU library submitted an application to the US Patent and Trademark Office, which recently approved it. He and other employees teach people how to use the complicated patent office databases which are online.
WIU's Patent and Trademark center also gives residents access to databases with sensitive information and international patents. Those two computers at the Macomb library require stricter security, and the "PubWest" databases are not on the internet.
The Davenport Public Library is also a Patent and Trademark Resource Center. And Malone plans to work with its employees to provide services to residents of both states.
http://www.wiu.edu/libraries/govpubs/patents.php
http://www.davenportlibrary.com/research/patent-and-trademark-information/