a mission to serve: what libraries are doing to support local economic development
DESCRIPTION
A Mission to Serve: what libraries are doing to support local Economic Development. Sara Thynne – Alamance County Public Libraries Dan Maynard – Campbell University Nina Exner – NC A&T State University Jill Morris – NC Live . - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
A MISSION TO SERVE:
WHAT LIBRARIES ARE DOING TO SUPPORT LOCAL ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENTSara Thynne – Alamance County Public Libraries
Dan Maynard – Campbell UniversityNina Exner – NC A&T State University
Jill Morris – NC Live
WHY DO PUBLIC LIBRARIES NEED TO BE INVOLVED WITH LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
Public libraries are natural partners in local economic development efforts.
Libraries depend on a solid tax base to operate; vested interest in economic development
Library = Vital Participant in the economic well-being of the community rather than merely providing “quality of life” factors.
WHAT IS ACPL DOING TO HELP WITH LOCAL
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
CREATING PARTNERSHIPS & OUTREACH
Economic Development Agency (Burlington Downtown Corporation)
Local Chamber of Commerce (Alamance Chamber of Commerce)
Workforce Development Agencies (Job Link)
Small Business Center (Alamance Community College)
Local University (Elon University)
Small Business Incubator (The Well)
SCORE Civic Groups (Kiwanis, Rotary, Civitans)
BIZ Groups (Alamance Leads)
WHAT INFORMATION DOES YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY NEED?
HOW TO START A SMALL BUSINESS DEMOGRAPHIC DATA FOR MARKETING
RESEARCH LISTS OF SUPPLIERS OR BUYERS LEGASLATIVE AND REGULATORY
INFORMATION INDUSTRY TRENDS/ STATISTICS COMPETITORS AVENUES FOR MARKETING PRODUCTS/
SERVICES LEGAL INFO ECONOMIC INDICATORS NEWS AND TRADE JOURNAL ARTICLES
BUSINESS LIBRARIANS IN NC
GOAL: To develop a partnership with local Chamber of Commerce departments in NC counties.
Action: Created a workshop called, “Marketing Research at Your Fingertips” to demonstrate how to find market research using the free business databases on NCLIVE.org
ReferenceUSA Business Source Premier Simply Map
FEEDBACK Participants found the workshop
extremely useful Great marketing tools Increased awareness of library
resources Chamber of Commerce benefits =
libraries benefit Business owners “talk up” library’s
resources in the community. Decreased barrier for entry and growth Prefer hands-on experience using library
resources Received feedback on information
needs - plan more workshops based on those needs
FINALLY….. Find out what your
business community needs (formally or informally)
Plan targeted services and programs based on those needs
Assisting local economic development efforts in any capacity, large or small, is essential to everyone’s success.
