By connecting parish residents and businesses with valuable information, resources, materials, technology, experiences and support services, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library invests in you. It is continuously evolving, including adding new materials and resources to its physical and digital collections and on-site spaces across its 14 facilities. New acquisitions often are in direct response to library patron queries. For example, the library’s subscription to test[1]preparation platform Mometrix came out of conversations library staff had with the local business community.
“When someone asks our reference staff a question, it’s an opportunity to explore new tools and platforms,” says Assistant Director Mary Stein. “We pay attention just like any good business would. That responsiveness is important because we want this to be a collaboration with the business community.”
AT A GLANCE
Top executives: Katrina Stokes, Director; Patricia Husband, Assistant Library Director: Library Operations; Mary Stein, Assistant Library Director: Programs, Outreach & Collections
Phone: 225.231.3750
Address: 7711 Goodwood Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70806
Website: ebrpl.com
The library’s responsiveness is evident through its investment in small-business services. With one-on-one consultations and curated coaching, staff members assist business owners, employees and entrepreneurs with a range of services, from taking the first steps of business planning to developing a list of potential leads in a specific area. Staff are available through scheduled appointments and walk-ins to provide guidance for business intelligence databases, including platforms such as Gale Business, Morningstar, Statista, PressReader and Data Axle. “We show them the pathway; people don’t always know where to start or who to talk to about what they need,” says Reference Services Coordinator Andrew Tadman.
Tadman also recently introduced “small business office hours,” online, drop-in sessions for learning about courses the library offers through LinkedIn Learning, Udemy and Gale Courses, among others.
With more than 2 million items in the library’s collections and subscriptions to more than 140 databases, staff also invest in resources such as video tutorials with Niche Academy and staff-developed InfoGuides, providing essential direction and insight on how to access, use and leverage these resources.
The library also invests in soft-skills training and in-person programs that help businesses retain employees, which Stein says increasingly has been in demand by local businesses in recent years. For example, the library provides access to Hiveclass, an online platform that promotes physical activity and wellness, which fits with business’ focus on employees’ work-life balance.
The library provides these services and resources at no cost. Tadman says patrons often “think that there’s a fee or a catch or that it’s too good to be true.”
The community has taken note of the library’s investments. More than 74 percent of parish residents are library patrons. In 2023, overall circulation increased 8 percent, to 2.8 million. The digital archive was accessed 578,413 times, yielding 632,498 retrievals, and Infoguides were searched 120,566 times. The premiere business platforms, including e-learning, news sources and business intelligence, were the most robustly accessed collection.
Bookings for the library’s meeting rooms increased 37 percent, with spaces used 4,858 times by more than 111,350 people.
Looking ahead, the library plans to invest in updating its website and in increasingly in-demand AI resources.
“AI is the paradigm shift that’s going to trans[1]form the way people do business, whether it’s the internal business of just managing your life as an employee, a manager, a CEO, or how you use AI with your customers and in product development,” Stein says. “The databases and tools we provide access to will help with this transformation.”
Amid the ever-developing resources and services, the library’s commitment to investing in the information needs of residents and businesses has held firm, Tadman says. “Our core mission of being a community center and providing access to things that people might not otherwise have has remained constant, even if the technologies for delivery have changed.”
Katrina Stokes
Your NATIONALLY ACCLAIMED East Baton Rouge Parish Library provides robust services for the business community, delivering up-to-date training and tech initiatives so that employment and research needs are met at a level that helps businesses expand and compete globally. Remote access to research tools and training platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Gale Courses, and Udemy in the Digital Library are especially well-used. Our award-winning Main Library and 13 branches provide programs and resources for all ages to enhance the quality of life for business professionals and their families. Our Small Business Service includes free programs, resources and tools to help businesses grow. Contact business librarians at smallbusiness@ebrpl.com, and check us out at ebrpl.com or ebrpl.com/DigitalLibrary
