Pitch Event: Thursday, May 19, 3-5pm via Zoom
Who are competing?
Katie Jeleniewski and Kate Hammond
Middletown Township Public Library (New Jersey)
“MAKERS MAKE BUSINESS: Supporting Our Community Crafter Entrepreneurs”
Mary Guillory
Xavier University of Louisiana Library
“Makers Dive In”
Corey Frederick and Chad L’eplattenier
Nashville Public Library (Tennessee)
“NPL Means Business to the High School”
Kate Davis and John Butler
Jersey City Free Public Library (New Jersey)
“Uncut Gems: Promoting Minority Immigrant and Female Entrepreneurs in Jersey City“
Audra Espinoza
Hastings Public Library (Nebraska)
“MOVERS and Shakers: Making Entrepreneurship Accessible In Rural Settings”
Pitch event schedule:
- Welcome
- Pitches by the five libraries
- Voting for the Audience Choice Award
- Updates from two 2020 pitch competition winners: what happened afterwards?
- Judges announce the winners
- ELC co-chairs announces the the Audience Choice Award winner
- Networking and discussion (lightly moderated by the ELC)
Judges



Awards
Thank you to EBSCO for sponsoring the pitch competition!
- 1st place: $2,250
- 2nd place: $1,000
- 3rd: place $500
- 4th & 5th: $250
- Audience award: an additional $750 to one of those 5 libraries.
Registration
Nature of the pitch
Is your library a player in economic development? Or do you have an idea on how your library could contribute to job creation, entrepreneurship, and nonprofits — but you could use a little funding to get started?
@ the Table is the pitch competition of the Entrepreneurship & Libraries Conference (ELC). Libraries will be invited to pitch ideas or initiatives to stakeholders in economic development. Public, school, special, and academic librarians are encouraged to apply.
The focus of the pitches is how a library can support local economic development, job creation, workforce development, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, small businesses, or innovation in general.
Application Timeline
The competition consists of two phases: following the initial application, five finalists will advance to the pitch competition.
- May 5: Deadline for pitch submissions
- May 9: The five finalists are notified
- May 10-18: The ELC pitch consultant, Jenn Hensel, will meet with each finalist who is interested in her support. Optionally, each finalist can have a Zoom practice/tech-check.
- May 19, 3-5pm EST: Pitch competition
Resources
Watch the April 21, 2022 pitch workshop.
Watch the ELC 2020 pitch competition. Also note at the bottom the interview with Jenn Hensel.
Planners
Event co-chairs:
- Angel Truesdale (UNC Charlotte): [email protected]
- Kellee Forkenbrock (North Liberty Library): [email protected]
- Steve Cramer (UNC Greensboro): [email protected]
ELC 2022 Pitch Competition Planning Team
Pitch Perfect: A Workshop for Librarians
Watch this recording to learn practical skills on creating a compelling pitch designed to generate engagement, excitement, and maybe even funding. From content to delivery, this workshop focused on what it takes to design an award-winning project pitch. Get expert advice from Jenn Hensel, Pitch Coach for ElePitch, as well as two winners from the 2020 ELC Pitch Competition.