Abstract Oregon State University has initiated an entrepreneurship program that will engage engineering students Entrepreneurship minor as well as residential program What do we know about the information needs of these students? What collections and services will target those needs? What roles can librarians play in the success of this interdisciplinary endeavor?

Weatherford Hall will serve as a residential college for engineering entrepreneurs

The Weatherford Library

Information seeking behaviors Business and Engineering Students are: –Less inclined to use physical library –Familiar with web-based information –Confident in their ability to locate information –Faced with time pressures –Asked to work in groups

Information needs To be successful, entrepreneur engineers need: –Sophisticated skills for independent information gathering and evaluation –A broader awareness of the wide range of databases and specialized publications in business and engineering –To learn both of the above before going into the workplace

Strategies If they don’t come to the library, the library will go to them Librarian hours in the residential college Student involvement in the departmental library and interaction with the librarian

Strategies Model a corporate intranet for the program where students can customize library and other information sources to meet their needs With student input, develop online tutorials on such topics as creating business plans or conducting preliminary patent searches

Strategies Collaborate with entrepreneurship faculty in course assignments, workshops Research on the information seeking behaviors of entrepreneurs Look for new ideas to deliver information where the students need it

Ideally, information seeking skills will be integrated into the Entrepreneurship curriculum and residential life of the students