We live in a world where multinationals grow rapidly, and it is hard for small local businesses to keep up. Small local businesses are part of our community, and it is our duty as citizens and organizations to encourage them as much as possible.

Bradley Collins mentions in his article that “starting a business is much more complicated than simply hanging a shingle, and libraries can help with a host of resources and programs.” Therefore, small businesses and entrepreneurs are an important community segment for libraries, no matter if they are small or big.

You’ll find in this post 11 examples of services that libraries in different countries provide to help local businesses and entrepreneurs.

1. Help or complete research from a librarian

Starting a new business, or growing your current one is all about research; knowing who to target, who are your competitors, etc. Information is valuable and is indeed one of the key success factors of a business. Librarians are perceived as being the most qualified people in terms of information research. It’s a valuable skill that libraries share with the business community of their city.

#Librarians are perceived as being the most qualified people in terms of information research. #librariesforbusinesses Share on X

Either for free or as a paid service, small businesses can request the help or even a complete research from a librarian. The Toronto Public Library offers paid custom research (called Intellisearch) where businesses can leave their research to an expert. The public library of Montreal, BanQ, on the other hand, offers a free service where businesses can get help in their research from a librarian.

2. Rooms and venues rental

Small businesses and entrepreneurs don’t have the same resources as other larger businesses. For example, a lot of employees from small businesses work from a rented office, or even from home. They might not have access to a conference room when they have an important business meeting or to a venue to have a product launch event.

Numerous libraries have access to spaces that can be a big help for those companies in need. The Library Square Conference Centre, from the Vancouver Public Library, for example, provides meeting spaces suitable for events of any size that companies can easily rent when needed.

3. Conferences and workshops

There are a lot of great examples of libraries that have special events, conferences and workshops specifically created for small businesses. This is a great way to attract more users to the library, especially those who haven’t been to the library before.

There are a lot of great examples of #libraries that have special events, conferences and workshops specifically created for small #businesses. Share on X

Los Angeles Public Library, for example, has an entire section on their website called Money Matters, where they promote events like business counseling where you can get one-on-one meetings with a great businessman/woman from the region. They also have an event called “Talk to a banker” where you can ask questions and learn more about your possibilities.

Another great example is the Barrie Public Library that offers different workshops like “Starting your business”, “Business Plan Basics”, “Social Media Drop-in Clinic”, etc.  Finally, The British Library offers a two-day workshop for Startups called Innovation for Growth.

4. Guides

Starting a business can be overwhelming, there are so many different aspects to consider, and it is easy to forget some of the important details. By developing guides, libraries help small businesses make sure that they are on the right track. It is easy to create and can have a huge impact on the success of the newly launched businesses.

A great example is from the Public Library of Ottawa where users can have access to guides on how to start a small business in Ontario, Canada. At the public library of Montreal, BanQ, people can also find guides about how to do a market analysis, how to create a business plan, how to find data, etc.

5. Access to different data banks

We hear about it everywhere now: data is the key to business success. Not all authoritative information can be found for free on Google and, usually, the local library has a dedicated page to an amazing list of research tools available for free for their users. At the library, the local businesses can have access to various data that contain useful information and relevant industry research results to better their business.

Not all authoritative #information can be found for free on Google and, usually, the local #library has a dedicated page to an amazing list of research tools available for free for their users. Share on X

For example, The British Library Business & IP Centre National Network provides entrepreneurs and SMEs across the UK with free access to databases, market research, journals, directories and reports worth thousands of pounds. This is very valuable for small businesses.

6. Blogs and newsletters

Trends in the businesses world change fast. They come and go, and it’s often hard to keep up. One of the best ways to follow trends nowadays is by reading relevant blog posts and newsletters. Librarians are always up to date with new information, they can easily perceive what information is worthwhile and which is not. Content is the best ways to easily share this knowledge with the local business community.

Ottawa Public Library, for example, publishes a newsletter every other month about a specific topic in the business world. Past topics included “Market Research, “Business Networking”, “Intergenerational workplace”, etc. These newsletters include articles about new and old trends in the business world, to do lists when running a business, etc.

7. Video creation lab

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