DMPED: September 30, 2003

(Washington, DC) The US Small Business Administration and the District of Columbia announced the opening of the city's Enhanced Business Information Center (e-BIC) at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library. The e-BIC will be located at 901 G Street, NW, Washington, DC, and will offer resources and programs to support the District's small business development.

The e-BIC at the King Memorial Library will provide the Washington metropolitan area with business planning tools, free on-site resources, staff, training courses and workshops to help entrepreneurs start, grow and expand their businesses. It will feature a state-of-the-art video conferencing room, computer terminals, a business information resource library and reading room. Small businesses represent 99 percent of all employers and 51 percent of the private workforce. They provide three quarters of all new jobs and account for more than half of all innovation. The e-BIC will enable the District of Columbia Government, the District of Columbia Public Library and the SBA to work collectively to provide cutting edge programs and services to foster the growth and development of local entrepreneurs.

"Small businesses are the engines that drive our economy," said Joseph Loddo, district director of SBA's Washington Metropolitan Area District Office. "The e-BIC is a great partnership effort that will allow us to leverage our resources and, at the same time, ensure that our programs and services are client-based and that we are effectively meeting the needs of the small business community,"

"The library setting offers an environment of better business opportunities to the small business community through reading, learning and community discussion," said Molly Raphael, director of the District of Columbia Public Library. "We are excited that with its trained staff, the e-BIC will be able to assist small businesses in effectively finding, evaluating and using information necessary for their growth and development."

Currently, more than 200 visitors use the business information center's services monthly. It will be moved from its current location at the SBA's Washington Metropolitan Area District Office at 1110 Vermont Avenue, NW in Washington, DC. The e-BIC will also offer expert librarian service, video conferencing capabilities and a rich array of resources.

The e-BIC will service the Washington metropolitan area, including the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland.; the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church; and Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties in Virginia. It will be open during scheduled library hours, which include evenings and weekends.