Entrepreneurs at the Library

The public library is many things to many people. For new moms, it’s a place where they can find friends who are in a similar point in their life. (Our Ready to Read story time not only helps small children start important reading habits, but also has forged many strong friendships between mothers) For voracious readers, it’s a place where they can indulge their every reading whim, without spending $25 a pop on each new read. And for those in our community with an entrepreneurial spirit, it’s the place where they go to get stuff done.

Arkel Lewis was starting a business and used the Dade County recording studio to make voice recordings. “The library offered high grade technology and great learning opportunities. Having the right resources and help from people makes a ton of difference when you’re trying to tackle big goals and pursue your life’s purpose.”

About a year ago, Ms. Dee Gross, a local educator, began coming to the LaFayette-Walker County Library looking for a quiet space as she worked on her doctorate degree. She began scheduling andchecking out our study rooms for research, tests and video conferencing with visits becoming more frequent and longer over the last few months. Last month Ms. Grossstated she had completed her program and was now DR. GROSS!

Both the LaFayette-Walker County Public Library and Dade County Public Library house poster printers at their branch. This business-minded patron put the poster printer to a use we had never seen before: a giant spreadsheet for her selective goat breeding business. How clever!

Alex Stayte (left) and Micaiah Allison (right) opened a business in Trenton (Dade Fabrication) and used the library to work on various aspects of start-up. Computers, printers, copiers and fax machines are all available free of cost at our public libraries. Whether you are conducting market research, faxing business license documentation, or printing out proposals, your hometown library has everything a new entrepreneur needs before launching themselves into the business world.