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Session #1541

Librarianship at the Intersection of Engineering and Business Margaret A. Mellinger Oregon State University Libraries

Introduction

Oregon State University has initiated two programs that engage engineering students in entrepreneurship. The first program is an entrepreneurship minor available through the College of Business that enrolls engineering and science majors in the same courses with business students. The second is the Austin Entrepreneurship Program, a residential program offered through the College of Business and designed to give engineering and other students with entrepreneurial interests a chance to “live, dine, work and dream together in an incubator community.” It is scheduled to open in a renovated historic residence hall in Fall term, 2004.

OSU Libraries is looking for ways to positively impact the entrepreneurship program by understanding the information needs of the community. The nature of information-seeking behaviors and information needs of engineers and business students presents a number of challenges, as do the as yet unknown needs of the entrepreneurship program. This paper explores ways OSU Libraries can address these challenges and contribute to the new focus through collections, services, instruction and research. Also addressed are the roles librarians can play to further the success of the entrepreneurship endeavors.

Austin Entrepreneurship Program at Oregon State University

Oregon State University (OSU) is a land, sea, and space grant institution with a student population of around 20,000. It is one of four universities in the Northwest to be granted a ranking of Carnegie Doctoral/Research-Extensive. There were over 3,000 undergraduate students in engineering and over 2,000 undergraduates in business as of Fall term, 2002.1 In 2003, the university completed a strategic plan emphasizing five multidisciplinary themes. One of the thematic areas is “optimizing enterprise, technological change and innovation.” 2 To capitalize on this theme, university administrators are looking at greater levels of collaboration across disciplines, departments and colleges within OSU, with other universities in Oregon and elsewhere, and with the public sector, especially business and industry. The College of Business and the College of Engineering each bring strengths to the implementation of the theme.

The College of Business has been charged to provide business education to other academic units, especially those with a strong technology focus, so that the University can build capacity and success in transferring knowledge and research to various industries and to develop start-up companies.3 The College of Engineering is collaborating with the College of Business through the Austin Entrepreneurship Program. The program currently has two components, an entrepreneurship minor, and the residential college. Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2004, American Society for Engineering Education

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Margaret, M. (2004, June), Librarianship At The Intersection Of Engineering And Business Paper presented at 2004 Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--13024