Entrepreneurship outreach through research workshops
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In fall 2016, Wichita State University Libraries introduced an Entrepreneurship Research Series with workshops designed to support both the burgeoning startup culture on our campus and also entrepreneurs in the greater community. With topics ranging from intellectual property protection to market research techniques, this outreach benefits not only the community but also the library by increasing our visibility and promoting a wider usage of our business resources. We reached out to several small business support organizations who helped us advertise the series among local entrepreneurs. Our marketing efforts led to success in drawing a mix of students and community members to each session. Through this experience, and the assessment data we gathered, we are learning about the information needs of local business owners, inventors, and entrepreneurial students which is helping us improve our services to these groups. In Spring 2017 we expanded the series with guest speakers, an additional day and time slot, and more targeted marketing efforts. This poster will be of particular interest to medium sized libraries looking to increase entrepreneurial outreach with limited staff and budget resources. The presentation will feature strategies for promoting entrepreneurship programming both on campus and in the community and aligning entrepreneurship outreach with library and university missions and strategic plans.