Toledoans who are thinking of starting a small business might want to make their first step a visit to the Toledo Lucas County Public Library downtown.
There they will find the brand new Small Business and Nonprofit Workspace, which is holding its grand opening on Monday. Although the library has long offered assistance to people who are looking for answers to their new business questions, the new workspace consolidates those resources in one place and expands the hours that help is available.
The workspace, which is located on the lower floor of the Main Library holds it grand opening from 3 to 4 p.m. Monday.
“We’re not just about checking out books anymore,” said Lindsay Williams, a specialist librarian in TLCPL’s small business and nonprofit department. “We want to help small business owners and nonprofit professionals by connecting them with people who’ve done what our customers want to do. So instead of borrowing a book, you can talk to someone who has the experience and answers. Without us, they might have to rely on expensive consultants. It helps to have someone to assist people new to the business world as they work their way through all the vocabulary and acronyms.”
Ms. Williams noted that all the assistance the library renders to would-be entrepreneurs and nonprofit founders comes free of charge and is available to all — including people whose native language is not English. The library has scanners that can render English documents into printed text in almost any language. It’s not even necessary to have a library card to access most of the department’s services, though access to databases does require one.
Help is available to people of all ages.
“The youngest people I remember helping were two 16-year-old girls from a local high school who wanted to start a nonprofit,” Ms. Williams said. “They were super motivated and resourceful.”
In addition to being a drop-in center, the new facility will offer various classes for new business professionals. Upcoming programs include presentations on how to develop a “one-year action plan for success” aimed at turning business goals into business realities and a program on how to use smartphones for product photography.
The workspace will be staffed by three specialist librarians: Ms. Williams, Zach Huber, and Linda Faye Lucas. They will be regularly available at the new center between 1 and 5 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday to answer questions and connect customers to community resources. Those who need to speak with someone outside of those hours can do so by appointment. For people who can’t get downtown to the Main Library, the workspace’s librarians will be available on Tuesdays at select branch libraries.
“We try to make sure things are flexible timewise because we know that many people starting small businesses have regular full-time jobs and can’t meet during the workdays,” Ms. Williams said.
The workspace will also draw on the experience of teachers and mentors from the Small Business Development Center, Access Toledo, and the Mercy Health System.
According to Elizabeth Bartolomeo, the director of communications for the Washington-based Urban Libraries Council, the new TLCPL Workspace is part of a larger national trend among libraries.
“What’s happening at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library is really exciting and is the outcome of work they have done with the Urban Libraries Council for six or seven years. They were one of the original cohorts in a project called Strengthening Libraries as Entrepreneurial Hubs. That project was led by the ULC with funding from the Ewing Marion Kauffman foundation, which supports this kind of work all around the country.”
Ms. Bartolomeo noted that in 2022, half of all new business founders reported that they’d used public library resources for business-related reasons during their start-up process.
The underlying philosophy of the workspace was laid out in an article written in 2021 by four TLCPL librarians for the ULC that addressed the question of why a library is an excellent place for people to nurture their business dreams.
“When it comes to entrepreneurship,” they wrote, “the knowledge gap for starting a business has the potential to feel insurmountable. The public library has long been a trusted place to ask questions about all types of different topics, including information about starting or growing a business. ... The public can anticipate welcoming and helpful responses to their questions, and staff members are typically available without long wait times.”
Upcoming Trainings at the Small Business and Nonprofit Workspace
July 20 and Aug. 24, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
One Year Action Plan for Success
Aug. 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Minding Your Own Business: Intro to Basic Bookkeeping
Aug. 7, 10 a.m. to noon
Media Relations for Small Businesses and Nonprofits
Aug. 12, Aug. 26, and Sept. 9, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m
Future-Proof Finances: Strategies for Small Business Owners
Aug. 14 and Sept. 11, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Grantseeking Tools for Nonprofits
Aug. 21, 10 to 11:30 a.m.
The Entrepreneur’s Roadmap: Business Plan Development
Aug. 28, 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
GrantsLab: Introduction to Proposal Writing
Sept. 23, 3 to 4:30 p.m.
Managing Business Banking
Sept. 25, 1:30 to 3 p.m.
Product Photography: Principles for Smartphones
First Published June 23, 2024, 2:36 p.m.
