STATE LIBRARIES:TEN ACTIONS TO PROMOTE BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The American library community is discovering small businesses and economic development. Individual librarians and libraries, of course, have provided effective information services to the business community for many years. Library service to businesses influenced John Cotton Dana to found the Special Libraries Association. Large urban library systems established “mercantile” libraries during the early years of their development. Within the past decade, however, the library community's service to the business and economic development sector has increased significantly. The reasons for this surge in service are simple. Service has been increased because of accountability, competition, opportunity, and evolution. It will be helpful to discuss each of these areas before presenting ten steps state library agencies can take to foster small business development and economic development because factors in each area need to be considered in order to establish a conceptual background for the recommendations.