Strengthening Libraries as Entrepreneurial Hubs
In May 2018, ULC launched this initiative in collaboration with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to strengthen the role public libraries play in nurturing and promoting entrepreneurship in their communities. The initiative is designed to:
- Leverage and develop the library’s unique assets and capacities to create hubs for entrepreneurship
- Advance equity and community economic health by increasing support for all entrepreneurs and particularly women, people of color, immigrants and veterans.
Read national media coverage:
- Access All Areas: North America — Libraries, Monocle, July 2018
- Independent Workers Are the Economy of the Future, The Realtime Report, April 2018
- Libraries Helping Entrepreneurs, American Libraries, June 2018
- How a Local Library Can Jumpstart Cultural, Educational and Entrepreneurial Growth, Main Street America Blog, August 2019
Starting one’s own business may soon become the most viable path to achieving the American dream. It is projected that by 2020 half of all workers will be independent freelancers, responsible for their own fortunes and well-being. Knowing this, ULC is bringing together 12 public library systems from across the U.S. and Canada to explore ways libraries can reach and engage entrepreneurs in their communities — particularly people of color, women, immigrants and veterans.
Participant Library Projects
Austin Public Library (Texas) is working to extend the reach of Austin’s Small Business Program by bringing programming, networking and resources to historically underserved and hard-to-reach residents using the library’s 19 neighborhood branches.
Read local media coverage:
On the ULC Blog:
Baltimore County Public Library and Enoch Pratt Free Library (Md.) are building a unified support infrastructure as a foundation for working together to meet the needs of underserved small business entrepreneurs, particularly solo entrepreneurs, in the region.
Read local media coverage:
- "Baltimore libraries team up on entrepreneur academy," Techinical.ly Baltimore, February 2019
- "Baltimore Libraries Launch Entrepreneur Academy," Library Journal, March 2019
On the ULC Blog:
DC Public Library is developing a package of resources and programs to support returning justice-involved residents in becoming entrepreneurs and will provide training for library staff to guide them in supporting this special audience.
On the ULC Blog:
Durham County Library (N.C.) is developing policies, procedures and contracts that will set the tone for the library’s new co-working space that is currently under construction as part of the renovation and transformation of the system’s Main Library.
On the ULC Blog:
East Baton Rouge Parish Library (La.) is working to expand public awareness of the library as a starting point for potential small business startups and entrepreneurs, particularly underrepresented groups that face extra challenges including offering open business clinics at library branches and community centers in neighborhoods where the most economically challenged residents live.
Read local media coverage:
- "Baton Rouge library system joins national cohort to strengthen entrepreneurial outreach," Greater Baton Rouge Business Report, May 2018
- "East Baton Rouge Parish Library to launch small-business services," The Advocate, May 2018
- "EBR library to help aspiring entrepreneurs launch small businesses," brproud.com, May 2018
On the ULC Blog:
Kansas City Public Library (Mo.) is assessing the special workforce needs of the city’s refugee and immigrant populations in order to align library resources, create partnerships and determine where and how the library should focus its efforts to have the greatest impact.
Read local media coverage:
On the ULC Blog:
King County Library System (Wash.) will develop and pilot a replicable, evidence-based strategy for effectively engaging the county’s small business community focusing particularly on refugees and immigrants.
On the ULC Blog:
Mid-Continent Public Library (Mo.) will address the opportunities that food service businesses offer to immigrant populations in order to sharpen the resources and support that the library provides to this population.
Read local media coverage:
- "KCultivator Q&A: Morgan Perry reads KC on egos, excuses — no Northland passport required," Startland, January 2019
- "Fostering New Businesses," Dewey Decibel Podcast, February 2019
On the ULC Blog:
St. Louis County Library is launching a long-term objective to strengthen the local economy by identifying key components of a successful model for working with discrete populations in the county entrepreneurial ecosystem. The process will begin with immigrant and student populations.
Read local press coverage:
- "St. Louis County Library teams with Etsy to help entrepreneurs," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 2019
- "St. Louis County Library joins initiative to help entrepreneurs launch businesses with focus on women and people of color," The St. Louis American, May 2018
- "Beyond Books: Libraries’ Role in Entrepreneurship Ecosystems," Faces of Founders blog, September 2019
On the ULC Blog:
Toledo Lucas County Public Library (Ohio) is creating a business outreach team to expand the library’s capacity to provide resources and referrals for the region’s growing entrepreneur communities from startups to mom-and-pop shops — with an initial focus on women and immigrant entrepreneurs.
Read local press coverage:
On the ULC Blog:
Toronto Public Library has created a Newcomer Entrepreneur in Residence program to provide information, personalized support, opportunities for skills development and connections to successful entrepreneurs to introduce newcomers to the Canadian economic and labor market and successful business practices in a welcoming environment.
On the ULC Blog:
ULC's Leadership Brief on Strengthening Libraries as Entrepreneurial Hubs
This Leadership Brief focuses on the public library’s role as an essential resource for entrepreneurs and core component of local entrepreneurial ecosystems. It highlights the exciting work already underway in libraries to advance the entrepreneurial spirit and identifies seven strategies for library leaders to become more intentional about implementing programs that support local economic development goals and reach potential entrepreneurs most in need of guidance and encouragement.
Summary of ULC's National Scan on How Libraries Are Currently Supporting Entrepreneurs
With the support of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, conducted a national scan of how libraries are currently supporting entrepreneurs in their communities. The purpose of this scan was to develop a baseline of information about the state of library entrepreneurial practice in order to identify specific models and promising approaches for further study.
Initiative Snapshot
A quick look at what our initiative is doing, who is participating and why this work matters.
Learning Cohort Snapshot
Discover how the library systems that participated in ULC’s Entrepreneurship Learning Cohort explored new ways to reach and engage potential entrepreneurs and support local economic development priorities.
ULC Member Survey Snapshot
In 2018, ULC surveyed our members to assess how they have been impacted by ULC’s work to strengthen public libraries as entrepreneurial hubs. Discover key discoveries from the survey results.
Stay tuned for additional updates on this developing initiative.