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Michael Beck

formerly Scottsdale (AZ) Public Library, currently Glendale (AZ) Public Library

“My Leadership Academy project was to create and implement a new library service, in partnership with Arizona State University, called Eureka and the Alexandria Network. Scottsdale Public Library’s Eureka Loft is the first collaborative workspace in the Alexandria Network, a new Arizona State University initiative that brings together inventors, problem-solvers, entrepreneurs and small businesses in community libraries across Arizona. As Project Lead, this high-profile project greatly impacts my professional career by requiring the nurturing of multiple strategic partnerships and the organizational logistics that accompany its operation.

This initiative combines elements of co-working spaces with expert library fact-finding services and Arizona State University start-up resources. This project has received local, state and even some national interest from out-of-state public and university libraries.

Presently, the effort has brought in over 2,000 underserved business-minded professionals and customers looking to start or expand their small businesses. Adult Programming numbers have increased as we have created daily adult programs from Monday Morning’s Business Energizer Group, Trending Tuesdays, Webinar Wednesdays, Thursday’s Network It, and Friday’s Speaker Series. Two small businesses have also been formed out of the Eureka Loft, as this project continues to exceed my expectations.”

UPDATE (April 15, 2015): The Eureka project earned a 2015 Outstanding Achievement in Innovation award from the Alliance for Innovation. You can view a video, , about the project on YouTube.