Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how academic and public libraries support entrepreneurial researchers and, in doing so, demonstrate impact and share best practices. Design/methodology/approach – The authors discuss their own experiences as academic and public business librarians who support entrepreneurs. They do so by revealing the main services they provide to this unique user group and presenting examples from their own institutions. They also present what is done at other libraries by way of a literature review and an informal survey. Findings – After navigating the landscape of business librarian support of entrepreneurs, many commonalities were found among the types of support offered. Most libraries in this study collaborate with a business incubator, center for entrepreneurship, office of economic development or small business development center in some fashion. Numerous outreach and networking efforts were found that had positive effects on the local and national economies. Alth...

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Engaging with entrepreneurs in academic and public libraries

This article shares results of a survey of North American academic librarians supporting campus entrepreneurship to identify the job responsibilities and tasks, skills and experience they employ, a...

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Toward core competencies for entrepreneurship librarians

Abstract The article analyzes both the relationship between university libraries and science and technology parks (STPs) as well as the role of these libraries in the information management of incubated firms. This relationship with Spanish STPs is also compared to the relationship with parks around the world. Several stakeholders involved in two Spanish parks were interviewed, so a sample made up of both parks’ management, the three university libraries with which they are related to and 121 firms incubated in these parks. The results were compared to results taken from a survey on 107 parks members of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation and 77 libraries related to those parks. The study revealed that the library-STP relationship underpin links between parks and universities. The IASP members who receive services from related university libraries show the value of library-STP collaboration. It is a first analytical approach to the library-STP relationship in the entrepreneurial university context. A series of actions to strengthen this relationship and better benefit incubated firms is also included.

University Libraries and Science and Technology Parks: Reasons for Collaboration

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STARTUPS, INOVAÇÃO E EMPREENDEDORISMO: um mapeamento sistemático da produção científica

This case-study describes the development of cross-disciplinary instruction for entrepreneurial information literacy. Growing out of a developing relationship between an academic library and Blacks...

Librarians in the LaunchPad: Building partnerships for entrepreneurial information literacy

Academic libraries must play a direct role in supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs to get their start. The primary way to do this is through the development of library space to support innovation. Additionally, entrepreneurial library and information science (LIS) students should look for work beyond the library. The knowledge and skills that they acquire in the classroom are exactly those that startup companies need and want in new hires. If academic libraries embrace the need to break from the old and try something new, they can become hubs of innovation on increasingly entrepreneurial college campuses. And if entrepreneurial LIS students embrace the learning objectives of their programs, they can become the ideal new hire for any number of emerging innovative startup companies.

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Lauren Restivo

Papers

Why Startups Need Libraries (and Librarians)