Pulling it all together:
Best Practices for
Library Business Services
By Jennifer Price, Business Reference Librarian Middle Georgia Regional Library System
Presented at the 2018 GALILEO Annual Conference
Middle Georgia Regional Library
Business and Nonprofit Services ✘ What we have…
○ Space: BANC (Business and Nonprofit Center) ○ Classes for both for-profit and nonprofit users ○ Print and Digital Resources
✘ How we started…
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Why Business Services?
Social and Economic Impact: Snapshot ✘ 37, 384 nonprofits in Georgia (Independent Sector 2016)
○ Nearly 10% of the state’s workforce employed at nonprofits (Independent Sector 2016)
✘ 1 million small businesses in Georgia (Small Business Administration 2018)
○ 43.2% of the state’s workforce employed by small businesses (U.S. Small Business Administration 2018)
✘ Economic impact statistics justify the provision of library business services. ✘ What’s the demand from your library’s business community?
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The Community Library’s Role
Public and Academic Libraries
Mission statement,
strategic plan, QEP,
experiential learning
programs
Ecomonic Development
Partner
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Type of library Vehicle for community impact
Decisions, Decisions!: Selecting Services
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Small Businesses?
Finance & Investing?
Careers & Employment? Nonprofits?
Financial Literacy?
Time for Best Practices! Oh, and there’s a Handbook, too!
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Professional Development Strategic Goals
Community Engagement
✘ Professional Guides for Business Services:
○ Embedded Business Librarianship for the Public Librarian by Barbara Alvarez (ALA Editions 2016)
○ Making Sense of Business Reference by Celia Ross (ALA Editions 2013)
○ Guide to Reference in Business and Economics edited by Leonard and Soward (ALA Editions 2014)
Strategic Goals
Organizational Mission Statement ✘ Set goals from here. Objectives ✘ How are you going to get there?
✘ Goals will impact which services are selected, which programs to
provide, and who the library’s community partners are.
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Community Engagment
✘ Community partners are your eyes and ears! ○ SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) ○ Chambers of Commerce ○ Small Business Development Centers ○ Community Foundation (located regionally) ○ Municipal Offices of Small Business Affairs ○ Regional Commissions ○ Industrial Authorities
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✘ The Impact: ○ Collection development ○ Services delivered ○ Professional development
Professional Development
✘ Events sponsored by Small Business Administration, SCORE, etc.
✘ Reference & User Services Association’s Business and Reference Services Section (BRASS)
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✘ Business Librarian Online Conference (BLOC) ✘ Online training: SBDC, SCORE, SBA, Webjunction, ALA, Library
Juice Academy ✘ Networking, of course!
Speaking of GALILEO…
✘ For professional enrichment, research, and practical tools: ○ ABI/Inform, Business Source
Complete, ConsumerEd, Hoover’s, Mergent, etc.
✘ Georgia specific: ○ Georgia Secretary of State
Business Search online
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Consumer data
Industry Reports
Market Research
Business Plans
In Conclusion…
Let’s share!
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Credits
Presentation template and clip art by SlidesCarnival (www.slidescarnival.com). This template is free to use under Creative Commons Attribution license (https://www.slidescarnival.com/copyright-and-legal-information).
SOURCES Slide 3:
Georgia Center for Nonprofits . (2012, April). The Economic Impact of Georgia’s Nonprofit Sector. Retrieved from https://www.gcn.org/sites/default/files/ctools/Economic%20Impact%20%282012%29.pdf
Independent Sector. (2016). The Nonprofit Sector in Georgia. Retrieved from https://independentsector.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Georgia-1.pdf
U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy. (2018). 2018 Small Business Profile: Georgia. Retrieved from https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/advocacy/2018-Small-Business-Profiles-GA.pdf
Slide 6:
Alvarez, B. (2016). Embedded business librarianship for the public librarian. Chicago : ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2016.
Ross, C. (2013). Making sense of business reference : a guide for librarians and research professionals. Chicago : American Library Association, c2013, 2013.
Sowards, S. W., & Leonard, E. (2014). Guide to reference in business and economics. Chicago : ALA Editions, an imprint of the American Library Association, 2014.
IMAGES Slide 2:
Logos:
Foundation Center: http://network.foundationcenter.org/promote-and-sustain/downloadables-for-marketing/logos
GALILEO: https://about.galileo.usg.edu/policies/galileo_logo_use_guidelines_and_style_guide_4.1
PINES: https://pines.georgialibraries.org/graphics
ReferenceUSA: http://resource.referenceusa.com/marketing-and-training-materials/
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Photographs:
Middle Georgia Regional Library Business and Nonprofit Center, photos courtesy of MGRL staff --
Slide 3: Georgia logo: http://www.georgia.org/wp-content/themes/georgia/images/logo-250.png
Slide 7-Goal image: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/481836
Slide 8- Bee image: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/community-engagement-what-universities-should-be
Slide 9-GALILEO: Databases by Subject screen shot retrieved with login at http://www.galileo.usg.edu --