Kellee Forkenbrock’s official title is public service librarian at the North Liberty Library, but it could just as easily be “librarian of entrepreneurship.”
“Most of what I do is help onboard, train and recruit new library assistants to our staff, and I help manage and lead that team. But in addition to that, I do a lot of business engagement,” she said.
At least 70 entrepreneurs per year come through the doors of the North Liberty Library seeking assistance with their various startups, said Ms. Forkenbrock. It’s a place she calls “small but mighty” for its plethora of resources and programs available to the city of 21,000.
“I’ve partnered with several entrepreneurs in the past to create programming,” she said, referencing “Business Beyond Borders,” a 2023 program that provided a platform for immigrant entrepreneurs to connect with and learn from other immigrant professionals.
“We had about 40 attendees for this event, and we had immigrants not only talk about their business, but talk about their journey,” she continued.
Other programs such as “Small Biz in Small Libraries” offer small business owners sessions about funding, resources and brand strategy from local professionals during the month of November, organized by Ms. Forkenbrock and adult services librarian Nick Shimmin.
The focus on small business owners isn’t relegated to just the North Liberty Library, however; it’s part of a broader trend sweeping libraries across the country, as more and more entrepreneurs take advantage of free resources available within their community.
Partnerships with local organizations further career development services
“The value of any library, whether it’s a school library, or whether it’s an academic library, whether it’s a public library, is that we’re all in the business of connecting people with information and resources,” said Julie Finch, president of the Iowa Library Association (ILA) and patron experiences manager with the Urbandale Public Library.
Emphasizing the vital role public libraries play in reducing the digital divide, she highlighted resources such as ebooks, databases, hotspot loans, and computers as essential tools for individuals who may need to fill out job applications, but can’t afford or don’t have access to these resources at home.
“That’s another way that we support economics, right? People can apply for jobs, businesses don’t have employees, so we’re bridging that gap,” she said.
Amber McNamara, community relations manager at the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL), noted that since opening over a decade ago at its new location, the library has evolved from offering basic computer classes – like introductory Excel – to prioritizing advanced digital skills and partnering with local organizations to help community members with career readiness and entrepreneurship.
“If you look at the data, what we see coming through our doors every day in our public computer areas at the library are people who need help with applying for a job online – who have maybe lost a job that seemed like it was going to be their forever job, and they’re late in their career, and all of a sudden the thing that they used to do isn’t a thing anymore, right?
“It’s not a job that’s going to come back. And so libraries have become places where people can come in and access different opportunities or technology to give them the idea of a job that maybe didn’t exist in their mind before,” she continued.
As an example of libraries’ evolution to meet the needs of their community, the CRPL partners with United Way of East Central Iowa, Kirkwood Community College, the city of Cedar Rapids and HACAP on the Opportunity Center at Ladd Library.
“It is a kind of a one-stop place for people who are at that point of either needing to find a job after a layoff, after being unemployed, after being homeless, (or) after being incarcerated,” said Kevin Delecki, CRPL programming manager, of the Opportunity Center.
“Anytime that there is that need to enter the workforce in a way that is not as accessible as someone who’s been in a long-term successful job…(librarians) can help them go through some of the different career evaluation tools that are out there to see maybe what direction would you want to go for. They help with resume and cover letter creation, (and) they help with job searching and applications,” he continued.
Carla Andorf, dean of Skills to Employment at Kirkwood, said partnering with the library made sense in light of the college’s goals of furthering career development in the Corridor.
“I think that sometimes the (Kirkwood) campus can be a very intimidating place for the community,” she said. “I think that we know that the libraries are just much more accessible for folks. They’re located throughout the community, and folks can come in and get the services they need. And so it’s just a great way, then, for us to be a part of that, whether it’s helping to support the staffing or offering workshops there so that we can just connect with people in the community.”
A one-stop shop for entrepreneurs
CRPL also collaborates with East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG), SCORE, and the Small Business Development Center at Kirkwood on the MICRO loan program, a revolving loan program that offers mentorship and funds from $1,000 to $10,000 for those starting their own business or seeking to expand an existing one in Cedar Rapids.
“When somebody is considering opening a business, there’s a lot of questions and information that has to be entered into that,” said Ms. McNamara. “You have to know how to write a business plan. You have to know what the market looks like. Maybe you need to know who the other players are in the community. ‘Can I get a mentor? Is this a viable option for this community?’ The library can help put you in touch with those resources.”
In addition to the Opportunity Center and MICRO Loan program, job seekers and small business owners can find the following resources at the CRPL:
- A Maker Space, which houses sewing machines, Cricut machines, a 3D printer, die cut machines and a flatbed scanner
- Digital resources, such as LinkedIn Learning, Data Axle and more
- Computers and laptops
- Printing
- Fax machines
- WiFi
- Notary
- Meeting spaces
“The notary – the fact that that was there and free surprised me,” said Shay Hoffman, owner of Dixie Fried Jewelry Co. and a CRPL patron.
Mr. Hoffman frequented libraries as a child, and turning to one for assistance when he made his business official in April made sense.
“I just know that the library is such a good tool,” he said. “There is so much printing and scanning and signing and then re-scanning of documents and things like that. Sometimes you have to have something notarized, (and it’s) kind of just a really good one-stop place to do business homework or any sort of paperwork these days.”
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Mr. Hoffman began making and selling wire-wrapped jewelry in 2016, but decided to make his business official this past spring, which meant filing articles of incorporation. He used the resources at the library to file it himself, estimating a cost savings of $200.
“The big thing, I guess especially for a starting entrepreneur, (is) there’s not a lot of cost associated with anything (at the library). Printing has a fee, but it’s pretty cheap,” he said. “There’s a lot of resources there that are not going to cost you an arm and a leg. You don’t pay to get in there to use their space.”
He credited the Opportunity Center at Ladd Library as a crucial factor in his career path. When he was exploring ways to supplement his business income with a side gig, he enrolled in a free coding class at the center. There, Erin Maeder, Opportunity Center program coordinator, played a pivotal role, connecting him to a temporary winter job driving a truck for the U.S. Postal Service.
“She’s always pointing in the direction of good opportunities, like the coding class,” he said. “When the (truck driving) job popped up, she mentioned it to me, and it was actually a perfect fit.”
Mr. Hoffman estimates he’s saved a couple thousand dollars in his entrepreneurship journey by using the library.
“The level of opportunity that a library – like the ones we have here – opens the door to a lot of independence and freedom that obviously we may take for granted here in the States,” he said.
‘Hidden and undervalued’
“I think libraries really can assist businesses and entrepreneurs in three main ways,” said Evan Doyle, program manager for community and economic development with Greater Iowa City, Inc. “The first is that they offer space. The second is that they have many services and resources. And the third is individualized help that really comes from the staff, so they have space for entrepreneurs and businesses to really go to.”
Mr. Doyle said the connection between libraries and local business piqued his curiosity last year, when he assisted faculty at the University of Iowa on a research paper exploring the contributions of local public libraries to community resilience in the face of economic hardships, extreme weather events, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Libraries are) so hidden and almost undervalued,” he said.
“The most important resource the libraries have is literally the librarians themselves,” he continued. “All these libraries are equipped with such talented librarians, especially in the Johnson County area, (and) you can go to any of these libraries and ask them questions, whether it’s about community service resources or business entrepreneurship resources…they’ll either know the answer or they’ll know where to direct you, which is really powerful, especially for maybe new entrepreneurs that don’t know quite where to get started.”
Amanda Ray, supervising librarian in adult services at the Iowa City Public Library, said the role libraries play within their community cannot be overestimated.
“We see all walks of life in the library, and it’s pretty fun to see all walks of life get to interact, and how they interact with the library,” she said. “We just always have people in the building. We are a hangout for teenagers. We’re a hangout for college students. We are a stop for young parents who want to talk to other adults, because they’re mostly just home with their young kids.”
Calling the Iowa City Public Library the “community hub,” she says in addition to saving patrons hundreds of thousands of dollars on material, it’s an important safe place as well.
“We know that there are people (who) don’t know where else to turn, but they know the library is someplace where they can go,” she said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by Mr. Hoffman as well.
“By now, public libraries feel so comfy or familiar to me,” he said.
