San Francisco Public Library outlines expanded Small Business Center services and free advising
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Summary
Julianne Randolph told the commission the SFPL Small Business Center hosted 44 workshops in 2025 and served 2,188 attendees; the library piloted 129 one-on-one advising appointments and plans to expand advising in 2026 with Zoom and Spanish-language options and continued corridor activations and pop-up markets.
Julianne Randolph, Small Business Librarian at the San Francisco Public Library, gave commissioners an overview of the library's Small Business Center and the resources available to entrepreneurs and small businesses.
Randolph said the center, based at the main library (4th floor), provides free 1:1 business advising, proprietary market-research databases, monthly skill-building workshops (marketing, entity formation, taxes, AI), corridor activations and pop-up markets. She said the main library hosted 44 workshops in calendar year 2025 and served 2,188 community members. Randolph described a 2025 pilot advising model that produced 129 appointments and said the library will expand advising in 2026 to include Zoom options and Spanish-language advising.
She noted the library partners with the Office of Small Business, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development and community-based organizations, and can run targeted database reports for entrepreneurs (for example, lists of businesses by industry and zip code). Randolph encouraged commissioners and staff to refer entrepreneurs to the center and to consider co'programming opportunities.
Public comment included a GLACHA representative who described the library as a valuable partner in small'business outreach and events.
The presentation was informational; commissioners discussed hybrid programming, youth engagement, merchant partnerships and collection development for diverse business authors.