10 Survey Results: Survey Questions and Responses
Survey Questions and
Responses
The SPEC Survey on Campus-wide Entrepreneurship was designed by Vera Armann-Keown, Associate
University Librarian, Client Services, and Afra Bolefski, Acting Head, Albert D. Cohen Management Library
and Liaison to the Asper School of Business, at the University of Manitoba. These results are based on
responses from 60 of the 124 ARL member libraries (48%) by the deadline of March 31, 2017. The survey’s
introductory text and questions are reproduced below, followed by the response data and selected
comments from the respondents.
Entrepreneurship has long been a part of higher education curriculums, particularly within faculties of
management and business. Just as research has become multidisciplinary and data intensive, so too has
the competitive business environment. More recently, the focus has been on expanding entrepreneurship
outside of the business schools and bringing opportunities to students within other faculties. The
purpose of campus entrepreneurship initiatives is to provide students outside of the traditional business
programs the opportunity to participate in, and collaborate with other students in the development of
new technologies, ideas, and businesses, both inside and outside of the classroom. This has been, in part,
supported by higher education’s growing emphasis on experiential learning opportunities to enhance
engagement and prepare students for the workforce. Universities are developing strategic priorities
around innovation and entrepreneurship that extend beyond the business school.
Library support for entrepreneurship has typically been provided through business libraries and/or
librarians. The knowledge and expertise these discipline-specific librarians offer faculty and students
can be enhanced and expanded through collaborations with functional specialist librarians in areas such
as data services, GIS, digitization, makerspaces, etc., providing many opportunities for librarians outside
of business schools to become involved with entrepreneurship activities. While many of the current
services offered to faculty and students can be extended to support new experiential learning models,
research libraries may be developing specific services and/or collections to support emerging models of
entrepreneurship on campuses.
The purpose of this survey is to investigate how ARL member libraries are supporting campus
entrepreneurship, both inside and outside of the classroom. The survey will gather information about
library services and resources, funding models, staffing and administrative support, assessment, and
the unique challenges of supporting these programs. The results will benefit libraries looking to
develop specific services and collections to support their institution’s strategic priorities in innovation
and entrepreneurship.
In this survey, entrepreneurship opportunities are described as courses, programs, activities, facilities,
funding, and support that provide faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial
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