| The materials and services offered at
the Dix Hills buildings that are particularly useful to entrepreneurs
are scheduled to be highlighted throughout the month of May,
and several programs on the topic of small business are in
the works.
"The reason why we wanted to do this is that we've
always had the materials but a lot of people don't know anything
about it, so it's a way of marketing our collection and reaching
a targeted audience ... for years we've noticed that our books
weren't going out about opening your own business," said
Rosemarie Jerome, reference librarian at the Half Hollow Hills
Library.
"We've always gotten questions from people wanting
to open their own business. It's always been there but now
we are really highlighting out collections. We've made a list
of the books and highlighted our databases."
Jerome said that some of the special events have already
elicited a considerable response from the community. The final
program is an entrepreneurial panel discussion that will feature
13 speakers from various local businesses. They will be sharing
their business experience regarding topics such as relocating
a business, online selling, networking, and financial issues.
Jerome said that the overwhelming response by people interested
in partaking in the panel indicates the wealth of information
available in the community as well as the extent of interest.
She added that the programs are open to anyone interested,
not just Hills residents.
Some other programs that are scheduled to take place are
planned for May 9 when Attorney Anthony C. Darienzo will be
present to talk about the legal hurdles that are encountered
when a business is bought or sold, SCORE will have various
programs throughout the month, and a program for young entrepreneurs
sponsored by the Small Business Development Center at SUNY
Farmingdale is scheduled for May 16.
All of the programs are slated to take place at the Dix
Hills branch of the library and from 7-9 p.m. With a couple
of weeks to go before the start of May Is Small Business Month
at the Library, Jerome and her colleagues are already confident
that it will be a hit and that they will be successful in
bringing it back as an annual event. "It's a ground-breaking
venture ... we're very excited because we are planning it
as a yearly event. The emphasis is on small businesses because
those are the organizations we think that we can help the
best," she said, adding that it will add another dimension
to the library.
"[When] people come in and ask random questions [about
small businesses] they're very surprised that we have the
extensive collection that we have and they do come back and
see it once they know about it. We hope this type of program
will make more people aware of it and we wanted all of the
ages to be involved because we have some very active high
schools and colleges nearby."
For more information, contact Jerome at 631-421-4530, ext.
78.
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