Outreach to Entrepreneurs: 
Four Librarians, Four Contexts
Ash Faulkner, Business Librarian, Ohio State University
Marlinda Karo, Public Services Librarian, Houston Community College
Morgan A. Perry, Outreach Business Specialist, Mid-Continent Public Library
Genifer Snipes, Business & Economics Librarian, University of Oregon Libraries
...a community college.
Marlinda Karo
...a community college. •Houston Community College (HCC) has 23 commuter campuses in Houston, Missouri City, Katy, and Stafford 
Texas.
•Offers singularly-accredited, open-admission, classes, 
offering associate degrees, certificates, workforce training 
and lifelong learning opportunities.
•Has three centers for entrepreneurship with 3 directors 
across Houston.
• The campuses are: Southeast College, Southwest 
College, and Northwest College
•Various programming is offered throughout the 9 main 
campuses.
Entrepreneurship •HCC offers a Business Management - Entrepreneurship Certificate Level 1
Education
•Program Length: 32 weeks
•About 10 students at a time are enrolled in this program.
•Provides students with instruction in entrepreneurial skills, 
business principles, accounting, and real life experiences 
through cooperative education. The program is designed to 
assist students in starting their own businesses.
Small Business / •The Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives:
Entrepreneurship •Established to build and sustain the Houston business 
community through effective and relevant educational 
initiatives to help businesses grow in revenue, personnel 
and business opportunities.
•Leads and coordinates all business and entrepreneurial 
initiatives by providing system wide support, and leadership 
to fulfill HCC’s Strategic Agenda to “Cultivate and 
Entrepreneurial Culture Across the Institution.”
Programs are for existing small business owners
Golct1nan 
Sachs 10,000 
small 
businesses MINOIIITY MJS-SS OEVElOPMENT AG£NCY BUSINESSCENTER 
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a U .S . DEPARTM ENT OF COMM ERCE 
O~roted by Houston Community Col~fl'I! 
program for small businesses that links learning The Houston Minority Business Development Agency is 
to action. Through the program, participants will operated by HCC and is part of a national network of 
gain practical skills in topics such as negotiation, centers established to assist existing minority-owned 
marketing, and employee management that can businesses and has been hosted at HCC since September 
immediately be put into action. In addition, they 2013.  Services are designed to improve access to 
will receive the tools and professional support capital, procurement opportunities, and domestic and international markets, to make their business more 
to develop a strategic and customized growth profitable, create jobs, and make their company 
plan that will take their business to the next sustainable.
level.
Past •April 19: “Brand Yurself” Opportunity workshop at HCC Stafford Campus
Entrepreneurship •April 26: PreOccupied Workshop at HCC Stafford Campus 
•April 27: Shark Tank at Spring Branch, Eagle room
events • May 2nd SCORE Awards Luncheon, Westin Galleria, 11:30-
1:30pm
•May 2rd – Online Marketing (SCORE workshop) at HCC 
Missouri City Campus – 1pm to 3pm
•May 3rd MBDA Business AFTER Harvey: Disaster Recovery
•May 5: Lemonade Day stand exhibition with Mading 
Elementary School
•May 5: Black Girls Code – Parent Daughter Workshop @ 
Missouri City Campus (7 to 17 year students)
Upcoming •May 18: IDEAS Pitch Competition  (Pitch Day – (11am to 1pm @ 3100 Main St. )
Entrepreneurship 
•May 24: Goldman Sachs Deadline for Fall 2018 (Sept 
events 12, 2018)
•May 25-27th – Comicpalooza (Summer Camps during the 
Summer Session)
•May 30th- November: LiftOff competition pitch & mentor 
workshop sessions
•Two Entrepreneurial Boot Camps this summer for women 
(tentative date for June)
•Four summer computer science boot camps for high 
school students (TBA)
Outreach to •Partner with the Economics 
Entrepreneurs professor who is the advisor for the 
Entrepreneurship Club
•Partner with the Office of 
Entrepreneurial Initiatives
•Offer room, space, and resources 
that coincides with the event(s) if 
applicable
...a small university without 
a business school.
Ash E. Faulkner
● Entrepreneurship education out of the 
Engineering School
○ 2005: Center for Innovation in Engineering 
Education founded
■ 2009: becomes ‘Keller Center’, 
entrepreneurship courses increase 
(listed under ‘engineering’)
○ 2012: First eLab summer accelerator 
○ 2014: Princeton Entrepreneurship Advisory 
Committee convened (recommendations) _.. PRINCETON 
○ 2016: Undergraduate Certificate Program in ♦•♦ ENTREPRENEURSHIP 
Entrepreneurship (cap 20) COUNCIL 
● Two librarians
● Outreach
○ Entrepreneurship LibGuides portal (linked from 
eLab, Keller Center web pages)
○ Email outreach to entrepreneurship course 
professors, related programs (e.g. ‘Tiger Challenge’)
○ Attendance (incubator workshops, eLab Demo Day, 
Keller Center social events)
● Instruction
○ Class visits
○ Campus incubator instruction sessions
● Collection Development
○ No business school = different available resources
○ Business plans and marketing particular areas of 
need
○ Funding from Economics, Engineering, Marketing
○ Licensing and vendors; free resources
Successes and Challenges
+ Established relationships with Keller 
Center, eLab, entrepreneurship courses
+ eLab information sessions well attended
+ Discussions with vendors re: licensing
- Number of students involved in 
entrepreneurship still small
- Traditional resources cover traditional 
industries; most projects technical and 
innovative
- Growing interest in social media marketing 
and crowdfunding; resources still needed
Ideas to expand
○ Embedded librarian hours at incubator
○ Technology-specific entrepreneurship LibGuide(s)
○ Support for ‘Tiger Challenge’ startup competition
○ Partnerships with incubator ‘mentors’
...a large university with a 
business school.
Genifer Snipes
Applied Sciences makes all the difference
0 I oREaON W WestWginiaUniversity. 
● FTE: 28,409
● FTE: 23,634 ● Tier 1 Research Institute
● Tier 1 Research Institute
College of Business & Economics 
Lundquist College of Business ● Brickstreet Center for Entrepreneurship
● Lillis Ctr for Entrepreneurship
● University Innovation Fellows LaunchLab Network
● New Venture Championship ● WVU Women’s Business Ctr
● Health Sciences Innovation Ctr
942 Olive St. ● Patent & Trademark Resource Ctr
● RAIN Network ● WVU Extension
● Taylor Invention Greenhouse
● Product Design LaunchLab Applied Sciences, Agriculture, Medical, Dental, 
& Nursing
College of Arts & Sciences
Outreach & Collaboration
● Check-ins w/ faculty & program leaders
● Attend public events & administrative meetings
● Judge VentureWell pitch competitions
● Awareness of resource network in community R /\ IN 
Instruction
● MGMT 335 – Launching New Ventures UOregon 
● MKTG 445 - Entrepreneurial Mktg
● In-depth research consultations
Collections
● Primary area of interest is consumer products
● Private company and localized marketing data of 
particular value
UO INNOVATION NETWOru( 
● Market research reports are never happening
Outreach & Collaboration
● Review WVU submissions to Statewide Business 
Plan Competition 
● Office hours in business accelerator
● Coaching pitch competition participants ~ WestVllginiaUniversif:)r. 
● Liaison to IDEA Steering Committee
Instruction
● AGRE 421 – Rural Enterprise Development
● ENGR 493Y ‐ Technical Entre/Enterprise 
Development
● ART324 ‐ Graphic Design Entrepreneurship
● JRL 458 - Interactive Media & Audience Building
Collections
● Major interest is B2B products & activity
○ Supply chain, manufacturing, etc.
● Niche and emerging industry data is a nightmare
...a public library.
Morgan A. Perry
Outreach Philosophy 
● Be where your customers 
are. Be where the business 
happens.
● Look for the balance 
between what YOU think 
they need, what THEY think 
they need, and what they’ll 
ACTUALLY show up for.
● Be impactful. Address your 
customer with the right 
information when they feel 
the pain of the problem.
Square One Small Business Services
TEAM
● Mobile team of 3 Business Specialists and 1 Business Information Librarian
WHAT WE DO
● 1-on-1 meetings with small businesses, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits in 
their places of business (triage) 
● Education opportunity formats include workshops, classes, and Bootcamps 
with strong community partners
● Online resources include research databases and online learning
TARGET CUSTOMER
● Small Businesses, Entrepreneurs, and Nonprofits with less than 15 
employees
Strengths and Challenges 
l? ● Mobile
● Customer-centric Life
● Branding
● Community Partners
● Identity/Diversity
● Library Culture
● Funding
JI 
HOW TO OPEN AND 
GROW A BUSINESS 
IN BLUE SPRINGS 
EXPO 
Best Practices Al l In Startup < 
Book by Diana Kander 
● Start with your customer
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● Know your ecosystem
● Read All In Startup by Diana Kander
● Don’t replicate, collaborate!
l MILLIONC UPS 
LI~ 
● Ask yourself why, relentlessly 
FAQ
● Are you a librarian or a business consultant? The picture can't be displayed. The picture can't be displayed.
● How do you staff these positions?
● Why does the library care about business?
● Who trains the staff?
● Is this service free?
INTERESTED IN DISCUSSING THIS FURTHER? The picture can't be displayed.
Contact Morgan Perry, Outreach Business Specialist 
mperry@mymcpl.org