By : Bridget Clerkin
source : http://www.nj.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Libraries have always been places that help plant the seeds of knowledge, but across the state, they are also becoming resources to help small businesses get started in a sluggish economy.
The trend is part of the new statewide campaign NJ Grows Biz, an initiative expanding the resources available to libraries to help them help small businesses and entrepreneurs get off the ground.
The latest installment in the project is the Small Business Resource Center, a virtual library of textbooks on topics dealing with starting and maintaining a business. The resource center was recently launched in public libraries across the state.
“The state library recognized the need in the community for this type of information, and in an effort to help New Jersey’s economic recovery, we made these changes,” said Tiffany McClary, a representative of the New Jersey State Library. “It’s just so important for business owners and entrepreneurs to understand what’s available to them.”
In addition to the Small Business Resource Center database — a free service for any library card holder — the state library is developing a website to help direct local businesses to research information. The database can be accessed at jerseyclicks.org.
Two business resource centers have also been established in the East Brunswick and Burlington public libraries. Owners of small businesses and entrepreneurs can go to the libraries to speak with business consultants, ask for customized research from librarians and attend special classes put on by local professionals on various aspects of running a business.
“The beauty of public libraries is that we can respond quickly to the needs of our community,” said Mary Ellen Firestone, director of the East Brunswick Public Library. “We have things in place already.”
The state hopes to expand the business resource centers, which are modeled after the program established by the East Brunswick Public Library in 2010, to at least three more locations when funding becomes available.
“Libraries have always helped business people and people looking for new jobs,” Firestone said. “Obviously with the economic downturn, people turn to libraries in droves, and the response here has been tremendous.”
Part of their success has been the access to the Frost & Sullivan database, which provides research reports on business topics. The state purchased the database for the library last month with the help of a $5.1 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant.
According to Karen Parry, manager of information services at East Brunswick, accessing a report from the database would typically cost a company $20,000 or more. Thanks to the grant, the library has already been able to distribute more than $5 million worth of information to small businesses free of charge.
“Since the reports are normally so expensive, it’s especially good for small businesses and start-up companies,” Parry said.
The state libraries have also initiated a campaign called NJ Works to offer resources for those who are seeking jobs. Utilizing the BTOP grant money, along with a $1.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, public libraries across the state have been holding classes on topics ranging from basic computer skills to résumé-building to the utilization of social networks to help educate the unemployed. Since the program’s initiation last year, public libraries have offered more than 3,000 hours of classes to nearly 7,000 residents, and they have helped create nearly 1,500 résumés.
“It is bringing people into the libraries who haven’t been coming to the libraries previously,” said Natasha Peter, BTOP compliance officer at the New Jersey State Library. “There is a draw and there is a need for those types of classes, especially for older people. They really do want to learn how to use a computer to help in their job searches.”
Kathy Schalk-Greene, director of the Mount Laurel Public Library, a main location for the NJ Works initiative, the program brings several new people in search of a job into the library every day.
“It’s such a need today,” she said. “Everyone has been touched by either a family member or a friend or a neighbor who’s lost a job. Unfortunately there’s a lot of people in that category now, but we’re glad to help put a stop to that.”
Source : http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/02/statewide_library_program_aims.html
source : http://www.nj.com
Category : Small Business Grant
Libraries have always been places that help plant the seeds of knowledge, but across the state, they are also becoming resources to help small businesses get started in a sluggish economy.
The trend is part of the new statewide campaign NJ Grows Biz, an initiative expanding the resources available to libraries to help them help small businesses and entrepreneurs get off the ground.
The latest installment in the project is the Small Business Resource Center, a virtual library of textbooks on topics dealing with starting and maintaining a business. The resource center was recently launched in public libraries across the state.
“The state library recognized the need in the community for this type of information, and in an effort to help New Jersey’s economic recovery, we made these changes,” said Tiffany McClary, a representative of the New Jersey State Library. “It’s just so important for business owners and entrepreneurs to understand what’s available to them.”
In addition to the Small Business Resource Center database — a free service for any library card holder — the state library is developing a website to help direct local businesses to research information. The database can be accessed at jerseyclicks.org.
Two business resource centers have also been established in the East Brunswick and Burlington public libraries. Owners of small businesses and entrepreneurs can go to the libraries to speak with business consultants, ask for customized research from librarians and attend special classes put on by local professionals on various aspects of running a business.
“The beauty of public libraries is that we can respond quickly to the needs of our community,” said Mary Ellen Firestone, director of the East Brunswick Public Library. “We have things in place already.”
The state hopes to expand the business resource centers, which are modeled after the program established by the East Brunswick Public Library in 2010, to at least three more locations when funding becomes available.
“Libraries have always helped business people and people looking for new jobs,” Firestone said. “Obviously with the economic downturn, people turn to libraries in droves, and the response here has been tremendous.”
Part of their success has been the access to the Frost & Sullivan database, which provides research reports on business topics. The state purchased the database for the library last month with the help of a $5.1 million Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) grant.
According to Karen Parry, manager of information services at East Brunswick, accessing a report from the database would typically cost a company $20,000 or more. Thanks to the grant, the library has already been able to distribute more than $5 million worth of information to small businesses free of charge.
“Since the reports are normally so expensive, it’s especially good for small businesses and start-up companies,” Parry said.
The state libraries have also initiated a campaign called NJ Works to offer resources for those who are seeking jobs. Utilizing the BTOP grant money, along with a $1.5 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, public libraries across the state have been holding classes on topics ranging from basic computer skills to résumé-building to the utilization of social networks to help educate the unemployed. Since the program’s initiation last year, public libraries have offered more than 3,000 hours of classes to nearly 7,000 residents, and they have helped create nearly 1,500 résumés.
“It is bringing people into the libraries who haven’t been coming to the libraries previously,” said Natasha Peter, BTOP compliance officer at the New Jersey State Library. “There is a draw and there is a need for those types of classes, especially for older people. They really do want to learn how to use a computer to help in their job searches.”
Kathy Schalk-Greene, director of the Mount Laurel Public Library, a main location for the NJ Works initiative, the program brings several new people in search of a job into the library every day.
“It’s such a need today,” she said. “Everyone has been touched by either a family member or a friend or a neighbor who’s lost a job. Unfortunately there’s a lot of people in that category now, but we’re glad to help put a stop to that.”
Source : http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2012/02/statewide_library_program_aims.html
