Tucked away in the corner of a Mandeville shopping center, next door to PJ’s Coffehouse and just down the strip from K-mart is a little known resource just waiting to be used.

A stark contrast to the hustle and bustle that surrounds most of the other shopping center tenants, inside the Library Resource Center the mood is quiet, professional and strictly business.

The center includes two conference rooms and a resource library room with wireless Internet access.

While sitting in the Business Resource Center in Mandeville, Bill Larsen demonstrates how to access from the Internet one of the many databases made available by the St. Tammany Parish Library System. (Staff Photo by Suzanne Le Breton)

There are also numerous laptops for use as well as a fax machine, copier, scanner and several telephones.

The center is open Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Mondays from noon to 8 p.m.

There is also a full-time business reference librarian on duty to help at all times.

While Ed Meyer, cannot do your work for you or even offer much assistance when it comes to writing resumes, he can point you in the right direction and provide you with the resources necessary to teach yourself.

In the center there are numerous books available for check out on writing resumes and applying for jobs.

“Any kind of business you can think of we probably have a book on it,” Meyer said, adding that all of the books that are in the system, whether housed at the center or at another branch, can be sent to whatever branch a person most frequents within days of it coming available for check-out.

The center also has resources to help a patron find tutorials on computer programs and templates to develop the ever-important resume.

“Most often people’s identify the public library with story time and programs for teens and kids, but we are for the whole family,” Interim Director Donald Westmoreland said. “We are for adults too.”

Meyer and his fellow staff members can provide assistance not only to those seeking employment but also for those wanting to start their own business.

The computers at the center have access to more than 100 databases.

Westmoreland said databases are the future of libraries and are helpful because they can not only bringing the resources into homes via the Internet but also frees up shelf space and allows for the smaller branches to also have access to these resources, where in the past people would have to travel to one of the larger branches to find books about many of the topics available on the databases.

The system has steadily increased the amount of money it spends on database subscriptions supplementing those provided to by the state. Currently the system is spending $150,000 of the approximate $1.5 million its spends annual on materials on databases subscriptions.

Most of these databases are available at home for individuals with library cards. There are databases designed for researching in academic and professional journalism as well as for preparing for exams such as the LEAP, the ACT or even nursing exams. There are also databases, where a stay-at-home mom can research what the best washing machine to buy is or for someone wanting to start a new business what the trends or demographics are in a particular market.

Some of the more helpful databases, Brent Greiger, services supervisor of the library system, said, are the ones that include tutorials teaching Excel, Word or basic computer skills.

These can be helpful especially in today’s economy for individuals who may need those particular skills for a job they wish to apply for and do not have the time or the money to enroll in a college computer course.

The center also offers courses on these computer programs free of charge as they are paid for using the property tax money the library system receives from St. Tammany homeowners.

“We are a self-help university,” Westmoreland said.

These courses are taught by some of the librarians and a retired teacher.

As this seems to be a need in this area, Westmoreland said he hopes to one day expand the library’s offerings to include a full-line of training programs.

Currently, the business resource center has a partnership with the Senior Core of Retired Executives, who provides free business advice and counseling at the center on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings.

One must make an appointment during these times to meet with someone from the group, which is made up of people who ran successful businesses and are willing to share their expertise with individuals who want to start up their own business.

The center’s two conference rooms are ideal for anyone wanting to conduct interviews or conference calls in professional, private seating.

When Albertson’s was preparing to open its new Mandeville store, it used the center to interview potential employees. Meyer said to make sure there is a room available when it is needed call the center ahead of time and reserve the spot.

Like all libraries, the employees at the center can proctor exams for online university courses. Meyer said this is especially helpful as they can sign on and validate the student is who he or she says he or she is and allow them to take the test in one of the private and quiet conference rooms.

The center also sponsors small business seminars, many of which are held in the meetings rooms of the Causeway Branch library, which is located next door.

The use of the center has steadily increased since it opened last year.

The Library Business Resource Center is located at 3504 U.S. Highway 190 in Mandeville in the Pontchartrain Square shopping center. Call Meyer at 626-8252 for a list of offerings or to reserve a time to use one of the conference rooms.