This month we're focusing on resources and programming ideas for libraries working with entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

Please contact me if I can help you with your efforts, and don't forget to contribute your ideas and resources to the Project Compass Florida website.

Pam Thompson
850.245.6633
pam.thompson@dos.myflorida.com  

Social Web Partnership To Connect Unemployed Americans with Jobs

Partners include Facebook, the National Association of Colleges and Employers, DirectEmployers Association and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

For the past two years, the Project Compass team at WebJunction has worked with library staff across the country. The team helped libraries amplify their services to provide patrons with the skills needed to move from surviving to thriving, especially in a turbulent economy.

On October 27, the Project Compass team and special guests (including Florida) reviewed the highlights from the staff training workshops and from the actions libraries have taken as a result of the project. Visit Surviving to Thriving and Project Compass Florida for a wealth of resources, action plans and ideas, all aimed at workforce recovery efforts in libraries. 

Like many of Florida's public libraries, the Pasco County Library System strives to help entrepreneurs start businesses and to help small businesses grow. These efforts correlate with the Project Compass Small Business Pathway and are valuable because they have the potential to result in local economic growth.

When a patron seeks information about starting or building a small business, an excellent place to start is the Small Business Resource Center, available 24/7 on the Florida Electronic Library.  

The Small Business Resource Center has a comprehensive search function with the standard limiting options of full-text, publication date, and publication title. Next to the basic search box is a new feature - four buttons that link to information on common business topics and provide topic-driven search pathways, easily connecting patrons to information that meets their needs.

• Business Topics opens a list of general business subjects that link to related documents. 
• Business Types provides a list of common small businesses with links to documents dealing with their subjects. 
• Small Business Plans provides hundreds of sample business plans from a variety of small companies. 
• How to... takes you to a list of topics that will display articles that walk you step by step through the concept or process.

All of the results from the pre-defined tabs can be further refined by limiting to business plans, articles, directories, overviews, or websites. Results can be further limited by subject, or by selecting from headings listed in the left margin. These features allow patrons to refine results efficiently.

The SBRC is a user-friendly database, which allows patrons to feel in control of the entire information-seeking process. Many patrons have reported that the intuitive format helps them find answers to their questions quickly and is less intimidating than a standard search.

To increase visibility of the SBRC, embed a SBRC widget on your webpages, Facebook, or iGoogle sites; or order free marketing tents, self-standing, space-saving signage, that can be placed anywhere in the library to publicize the Small Business Resource Center.

Learn more about the Small Business Resource Center and other Florida Electronic Library resources by participating in free online training. 

Thanks to Sandra Abini, Branch Manager at the Pasco County Library Cooperative Centennial Park Branch, for contributing this information.  

Patrick Reaves from Orange County Library System shared their Job Search History Record to help job seekers track their progress. They are looking for ideas about what to include in a networking sheet.

Several people are looking for ideas on how they can increase awareness of the services they offer to job seekers. 

Someone is looking for a checklist for the newly unemployed. Phil Hackman shared a brochure the Martin County Library System created.  Other ideas?

There was a request for information about how to help patrons identify predatory credit reporting companies.   

Linda Bruno (Linda@LindasWorkshops.com) is looking for input on what to include in an upcoming workshop on compassion fatigue.

Please send your suggestions, ideas, or resources, along with any requests for assistance, to Pam Thompson at pam.thompson@dos.myflorida.com.   

All Project Compass programs and materials are made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by WebJunction and the State Library of North Carolina; and by funds from a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Florida Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services. For more information about Project Compass visit: www.webjunction.org/project-compass.