1. Adding value with business services at your library
Amy L. Cochran – Grand Rapids Public Library
acochran@grpl.org
Elizabeth Kudwa – Capital Area District Library
kudwae@cadl.org
Tera Moon – Southfield Public Library
tmoon@sfldlib.org
Nicolette Warisse Sosulski – Portage District Library
nsosulski@portagelibrary.info
2. Board members are community minded individuals, so
services that bolster your community resonate with
them. Perhaps even more than your average taxpayer,
board members are concerned about Michigan. They
want the library to be involved with the effort to bring
businesses to your area and keep it there.
Portage District
Library Business
Information Center
3. Ask your director for space at board meeting to tell your
business stories
Boards vote on budgets, and business resources can be
among the priciest items in your collection
Stories—successful programs, grateful entrepreneurs,
new services they may not be aware of as patrons—
bring home your value
Strategy: schedule a program the same night as your board meeting and
let them see people flocking in
4. If your board makeup is like ours at the PDL, there is a sizable
contingent of established community members including some
that are mid-50s and over. That means that
These people are likely to find your information on investments
and the market highly relevant and valuable
Board members are a potential source of business programming
and program ideas, from resume advice to business counseling.
They may also know speakers you are seeking personally
Some of your board members may be business owners that you
should make a special effort to invite to your programs
Board members are networked in the community—connectors
in Malcolm Gladwell parlance—if they know your programs,
word gets out faster.
5. Identify appropriate organizations.
◦ SCORE
◦ SBDTC
◦ business development dept of municipality
◦ planning dept of municipality
◦ treasurer's office
Approach with a message about what the library can
give; show that the library adds value to the process of
starting a business by providing quality information
Share success stories to illustrate this; get testimonials
from those you’ve helped
6. Network!
◦ In order to get to know these orgs, attend their events, ask to
speak at meetings
◦ Just as it's important to know which community orgs to refer
YOUR clients to, make sure they know when to refer their
clients to YOU
Offer sponsorship of programs
If you host their programs or events, always kick off the
event with a commercial for the library
Make yourself indispensible but . . .
7. Beware of unsolicited program offers
o ask them for a proposal of their program in writing
o ask for references
o have a contract that states they can't promote their business
Biggest challenge for you the librarian: straddling the
line over being helpful and doing too much
8. Your library is one piece of the support structure for
starting a business
Partner, partner, partner!
◦ Lots of referrals both to and from the library.
Patron viewpoint
◦ Referred to the library for market research
◦ Stumbled upon the library and discovered our resources
◦ Active library users already aware of our breadth of resources
Set expectations early
◦ Evaluate what services you and your staff can provide
Available resources
How to use them
What will the librarian do?
9. Assure the patron of confidentiality
Contact info for patron
Patron’s question
Search terms used including SIC/NAICS codes
Any related associations or publications
Sources used
Track the time spent by hours/day
Key results of search
Identify actionable information, or the take-away
points passed on to the patron
10.
11. Dedicated space and staff member if possible
12.
13. Website content
o Example from the Grand Rapids Public Library
www.grpl.org/wiki/index.php/Small_Business_Resources
Print pathfinders covering particular topics
Print instructional guides that go deeper than traditional
pathfinders
15. Database Guides
o How to use some of the most popular databases
o These could be provided by the vendor, or internally
by your library
16. Grand Rapids Public Library – Instructions on
using BusinessDecision, a demographics
database
17. Folder with pathfinders and program information
Enewsletter – highlights resources and promotes library
business programs
Blog entries
Programming and one-to-one help
18. An example of a
promotion for a
3-part class on
market research
that GRPL
taught at the
MI-SBTDC
19. Summing Up
Be aware of the various groups to please
o Library Board & Administration
o Community Organizations
o Patrons
Be aware of your available staff and resources
Set expectations and services accordingly
Partner whenever you can!
