Partnering with your local library to promote and support small business can enhance the reach and impact of economic development efforts.

Enabling growth and retention of small businesses is a vital step for fueling economic development in communities of all shapes and sizes. In the United States, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports that small businesses represent nearly half of the nation’s private sector workforce and 63% of new job creation between 1995 and 2021. A thriving small business ecosystem represents prosperity and stability for any city or town. So what can be done to increase support for small businesses? How can economic development professionals ensure that all prospective business owners in their communities know where to go and what to do to get their ideas off the ground?

One option is to partner with your local library. Libraries, such as the St. Louis County Library, report saving small business owners a significant amount of money each year (check out the American Library Association’s Library Value Calculator for more). This potential for cost savings is a national trend: Libraries across the country provide entrepreneur support resources of all kinds, from workshops and networking opportunities to specialized media equipment and market research. Working with a local library is a good way for small business owners to get the help they need—and a good way for EDOs to reach new audiences and potential clients.

Support for immigrants and new arrivals

Making sure small business services can reach everyone is sometimes as simple as addressing a language barrier. The Los Angeles Public Library’s Sea Un Vendedor Ambulante Exitso (Successful Street Vending) partnered with Cell-Ed, a digital learning and coaching platform, to provide microenterprise learning modules accessible via cell phone in Spanish, English, and ELL. This program was developed to assist Spanish-speaking street vendors by connecting them to library resources and adult education services. In particular, this program provides assistance to those navigating a recently formalized system of street vending, which contributes $504 million annually to the Los Angeles economy.

With a similar focus, the Santa Barbara Public Library, in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups program and the Women’s Economic Ventures group, acts to connect business support organizations and high-quality resources with harder-to-reach segments of its community, including Spanish-speaking business owners and entrepreneurs.

Finally, Providence Public Library has been hosting a Small Business Hub in partnership with SCORE Rhode Island since 1999. The Hub provides support and coursework for prospective entrepreneurs, including an eight-week Small Business Workshop series, and a yearlong English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) for Entrepreneurs class created by popular demand.

Events and community engagement

Concurrent with the activities they have developed to help new entrepreneurs, libraries also work as proactive partners for established businesses and business support organizations that are seeking to reach new clients in their communities. These partnerships allow libraries to direct their patrons to business support organizations for specialized assistance, allow business support organizations to access a wider audience, and create opportunities to work together on engagement.

For example, Spokane County Library District has promoted Small Business Saturdays and the Shop Small movement, and used its Small Business Boot Camp series to encourage the community to look at small business. These entrepreneurship support efforts were informed by collaborating with both local organizations and national-level initiatives: Spokane County Library District partnered with the local chamber of commerce, local SCORE chapter, EBSCO Information Services, and American Express’ Neighborhood Champion program to extend the reach and depth of its business support services.

Support for the reentry community

Outside Atlanta, the Gwinnett County Public Library’s New Start Entrepreneurship Incubator supports formerly incarcerated prospective entrepreneurs. Designed to combat the stigma encountered by formerly incarcerated individuals seeking employment—known as the “second sentence”—the incubator uses business education programs, mentoring opportunities, and networking within a community of more than 40 small business programs to create jobs, reduce recidivism, and encourage innovation. Participants are given laptops and internet hotspots and complete a six-month online course. Upon completion of the course they have the opportunity to pitch their business plan to members of the local business community.

Support for marginalized communities

At the Appleton Public Library in Wisconsin, the Small Business–Big Impact initiative supported business startup, retention, and growth for entrepreneurs even during the height of the pandemic. This work included providing an eight-part virtual course focusing on the basics of small business operation, access to market research databases, and a unique spin on networking in the business community: hosting an entrepreneur storytelling series as a space for business owners from BIPOC and immigrant backgrounds to share stories and strategies, mentor prospective entrepreneurs, and build community.

In Columbia, South Carolina, residents reported lack of mentorship opportunities and difficulty developing necessary technical expertise. To address these barriers, Richland Library’s Entrepreneurial Launch Pad takes a three-pronged approach to support emerging business owners: free access to Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs); customized coursework, databases, and networking events; and resources such as meeting spaces, printing services, makerspaces, and the Entrepreneurial Library of Things. Richland Library continues this work as part of its Business, Careers, and Research Center, becoming a small business information hub and acting as the first point of contact for prospective entrepreneurs.

Reach out to your library to find out more 

Numbering 123,000 across the U.S., libraries are vital connectors and hubs—convenient, accessible, and open to all. Libraries already serve as the first stop for anyone in need of a place to work, study, and learn, and are staffed by expert professionals committed to serving their communities. To find out what your local library has to offer, make a phone call, send an email, visit their website, or just walk through the front door!

Jim Takeshita is a public policy associate with the American Library Association and helps maintain the Libraries Build Business Community, a peer-to-peer network for libraries to develop small business support services.

Learn more about Spokane County Library District’s programs to support entrepreneurship at IEDC’s Economic Future Forum, June 16–18, in Spokane, Washington.

Photo: Melanie Hwang