As Entrepreneurship Grows, Public Libraries Fill the Gap

The Baltimore County Public Library introduced the Entrepreneur Academy in late 2019. This seven-week intensive school took potential entrepreneurs through every step of the business-building process, from conception to marketing to accountancy.

Initially, the programme was limited to 35 students who met in person once a week. However, because there were over 100 persons on the waiting list, the staff provided a new course as soon as the previous one ended. Around 200 students registered when classes went virtual in the fall of 2020, removing physical space constraints.

Many public libraries have stepped in to meet an increasing need among new company owners, particularly those without the finances to seek paid help, as the pandemic has sparked an entrepreneurship boom.

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, new business applications in the United States reached a record 5.4 million in 2021, up from 4.4 million the previous year compared to an annual average of 3.4 million applications between 2017 and 2019.

According to a breakdown, immigrants, Latinos, and persons with less than a high school diploma were among the groups with the most excellent rates of new entrepreneurs in 2020. Many public library programmes target these people who might otherwise miss out on business resources.

According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data, new business applications in the United States reached a record 5.4 million in 2021, up from 4.4 million the previous year compared to an annual average of 3.4 million applications between 2017 and 2019.

According to a breakdown, immigrants, Latinos, and persons with less than a high school diploma were among the groups with the most excellent rates of new entrepreneurs in 2020. Many public library programmes target these people who might otherwise miss out on business resources.

“With their micro-businesses and side hustles, many of the entrepreneurs we see don’t have a lot of extra income to pay $75 to attend a networking event,” says Julie Brophy, adult and community engagement manager at the Baltimore County Public Library, who runs Entrepreneur Academy. The Urban Libraries Council and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation collaborated to launch the academy, including networking events with local business leaders and expert panels of attorneys, accountants, and insurance agents.

Libraries Build Business, a national effort of the American Library Association (ALA) to assist low-income and underrepresented areas in starting or growing their enterprises, was expanded in early 2020 thanks to a $2 million grant from Google.org.

Libraries have historically offered assistance with job applications and business ventures. However, they aren’t consistently recognized for their contributions to local business communities, which many libraries are working to alter as they expand their offerings.

Jennifer Hyun-Lynn Gibson of the St. Louis County Library came up with the idea for the calculator. “It occurred to me that the greatest approach to generate an immediate response and get someone to listen to the remainder of what you have to say is to go to the bottom line and tell an entrepreneur how much money they can save by utilizing us,” Gibson says.

The calculator calculates the total cost savings to the community by assigning a market value to library materials provided for free. The calculator considers prices such as what someone would pay to join a makerspace if they didn’t have access to a library or what someone would spend for a computer with an internet connection if they didn’t already have one, according to Buchanan. Estimates for 2021 during a pilot period – a pandemic year in which many services were limited or virtual — ranged from $815,000 to $1.38 million in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Spokane, Washington.

The American Library Association formally began the Libraries Build Business project in April 2020, with a cohort of 13 public libraries in cities representing urban, suburban, rural, and tribal populations to help libraries expand their offerings.

Each created its programme in response to the needs of their community, providing resources such as workshops, tech help, and one-on-one mentorship. Some developed business hubs with free counseling, makerspaces, and internet access, while others extended existing programmes. Others created new initiatives for underserved populations such as women, immigrants, and formerly convicted people.

“Funding for people with company ideas is also incredibly tough to come by.”