Xavier University of Louisiana Library earned $250 to support student entrepreneurial ventures in the Innovation Studio as a finalist in the 2022 Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference (ELC) @ the Table Pitch Competition sponsored by EBSCO. Public, school, special, and academic libraries from around the United States were invited to apply, and only five finalists were selected to pitch their ideas to judges live on May 19th.

The ELC is hosted by the business librarianship section of the North Carolina Library Association BLINC. Each finalist received professional coaching from ElePitch consultant Jenn Hensel. The competition’s three judges included University of North Carolina at Greensboro Bryan School of Business and Economics faculty member Channelle D. James, Ph.D, Richland Library Business and Career Department manager Diane Luccy, and Miami County Kansas Economic Development Director Janet McRae. Approximately fifteen libraries entered the 2022 competition. Winners of the 2020 competition from Nederland Community Library and Mid-Continent Public Library returned to share updates on their successes.

The goal of XULA Library’s pitch “Makers Dive In” was to fund makerspace related student ideas for those new to the experience of entrepreneurship and innovation. Each finalist was given five minutes to convey their ideas to judges via Zoom. Librarian Mary A. Guillory represented XULA in this competition which offered a total of $5,000 in prizes. In addition to judge ranking, an Audience Choice Award was offered in which XULA was only five votes shy of winning. A recording of the pitch competition titled “@ the Table 2022 Pitch Competition” is available on the ELC: Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference’s Youtube Channel.