The library

Community libraries are necessary resources for start-ups and other small businesses.  This seems obvious - or does it?

Stephenson Library in Marinette, WI

I have been working at our public library for about a 1/2 of a day every 2 weeks or so.  This gets me out of my office - which is in my home - and into a new environment for a few hours.  I seem to get a fresh perspective on the projects that I am working on just by the change of venue.
But that's not all the library has done for me.  I can search an online "card" catalog  that includes a large number of libraries through-out the state of Wisconsin.  I can request books that I am interesting in and they arrive at my local library when they become available.  I can review the books and if it's a great resource, I can purchase my own copy.  If it only has a few tidbits of good stuff, I can take some notes and return the book.

Our library has meeting rooms that I can reserve for meeting clients or to gather a group of collaborative partners for a problem solving session.  

All of these services are accessible to all of us - no one is turned away!

It's convenient to have so much data available to us through our home or office computers or other devices, but let's face it - getting up from our desks, interacting with other people and finding different ways to access information is energizing.