By This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | Corridor Inc. Staff Writer

Originally published March 2007

Carla D. Hayden is the executive director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. Photo by Christopher Myers

     From a business center that helps potential entrepreneurs research and develop strategic plans, to a job and career center that offers computer training, Enoch Pratt is helping fuel Maryland’s economy.

     “We looked at the needs of the area and economic development was very important,” said Carla D. Hayden, executive director of the library. “The role for libraries is to expand on [those needs] and we see business as an area where we can have an impact.”

     The business center is housed in Enoch Pratt’s central library branch in downtown Baltimore.

     Since 1971, Enoch Pratt has also had the distinction of being the State Library Resource Center (SLRC), which means it’s open and available to anyone in Maryland.

     “We’re one of the best kept secrets in the city and state,” said Hayden, who has been at the helm for almost13 years.

     For over a decade, Enoch Pratt has been providing business customers with free reference materials and staff assistance, said Hayden. But, over the last five years the work has been targeted, focusing on the growing needs of existing and would-be business owners — providing them with a plethora of resources.

     With the change from a manufacturing to a service economy, it was clear that a lot of customers had a growing interest in business, said Wesley Wilson, chief of the central library and SLRC.

     Today, the most popular materials are the ones that help customers write business and marketing plans, said Naomi Hafter, the primary business center librarian.

     The library has access to government contract procurement Web sites, U.S. Small Business Administration resources, business information clearinghouses as well as investment resources, corporate background information and specific product information.

     Jack Papaleonti took advantage of the resources two years ago when he was putting together a plan for a new career as a business broker. Today, he’s an associate broker for Sunbelt Capital Group, an Annapolis firm that helps people buy and sell businesses. He credits the library with helping him research and plan out his new venture.

     “I was more fortunate than most,” said Papaleonti, who started his first business in 1992. “But Enoch Pratt is great for people who don’t have a clue. You have someone who will sit with you and you’re not paying them by the hour.”

     While individuals can use the printed materials and meet directly with Hafter or other business center staff, Enoch Pratt also provides remote Internet access to its databases. 

     Once his brokerage business got started, Papaleonti admits he took advantage of Enoch Pratt’s collection of online resources. He even referred the business center to clients. 

     At the job and career information center adjacent to the business center, help with resumes and interviewing is available — allowing job-seekers to use the resources to improve competencies and apply for positions.

     “A skilled workforce is what everyone needs,” said Hayden. “We help develop that skilled workforce.”

     Each year, over 1.5 million people pass through the main branch and the Web site receives up to  35 million hits, said Hayden. 

     Last year, the business center had 560 individuals participate in programs designed specifically for small business, said Hafter.

    But it’s still hard to quantify the economic effect a library has because the resources are free and the user can be completely anonymous, Wilson said.

     “We see [the business and career resources] as a natural extension of our mission,” said Hayden. “Libraries are called the people’s university. We’ve filled that role.” <

     Celebrating books turned into film is the theme of the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s second Borrower’s Bash, an April 14 fundraising event. The evening will feature Christopher Buckley, author of the 1994 novel “Thank You for Smoking,” which was turned into a movie in 2005. 

     Actor John Astin, a Baltimore native who played Gomez Addams in the 1960s TV series “The Addams Family,” will also be a guest. The event will include food and live music, plus swing dancing complete with instructors. A conversation between Astin and Buckley will be the main event and three panel discussions are being planned as well, said Sharon Connell, manager of special events at Enoch Pratt.

     The library hopes to raise $100,000 for program support, she said.

     The first Borrower’s Bash took place in 2005 and featured Jim and Kate Lehrer. It generated more than $60,000, said Connell. This year, the library wanted to showcase its collection of films.

     “We were looking for a way to tie into our film collection through books,” she said. “We saw this year’s event as a happy marriage between the two.”

     The event will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. in the central hall of the 400 Cathedral St. branch. Tickets are $75 and available at the door or online at www.epfl.net.