Greetings from the Nation’s Capital,

The Howard University Library System has been a part of the Patent and Trademark Depository Library Association for a little over 10 years. During that time we have had to say good-bye to a long-serving, very knowledgeable librarian, Ms. Leslie Brown. In lieu of several other retirements and transitions, the Reference Department of the Founders Library, which is the hub of the Howard University Library System, has welcomed Ms. Celia Daniel, a Senior Reference Librarian, as its coordinator.

The Howard University Library System has seen a new wave of advancement with the implementation of a fresh, new agency under the Howard University School of Business. The Entrepreneurial, Leadership, and Innovation Institute (ELI) has been graced with the partnership of The Founders Library, the historical landmark on Howard University’s campus in which the Patent and Trademark Division of the Reference Department is housed. Ms. Celia Daniel, with a lot of determination, helped the library derive benefit from this marketable partnership. The partnership has spawned the “African American Entrepreneurship Lecture Series”, which has attracted such speakers as the owner of renowned restaurants, Bus Boys and Poets and Eatonville, both located in Washington, DC. As innovation is truly the mother of invention, the topics of Copyrights, Intellectual Property, Patents, and Trademarks are discussed and consulted in each lecture, so as to inform the audience of these pertinent issues as they begin to think along the lines of an entrepreneur and channel their inner business-savvy. The services that Howard University’s Depository Library offer are highlighted to further the outreach to the vast community of inventors, who often show themselves in the roles of students, faculty, Washington Metropolitan Area residents, and current business owners.

It has been a joy and a privilege for our Depository Library to capitalize on the partnership, which created the popular lecture series. It has given us the preference of drawing attention to our services on such a rich platform, of underscoring strong connections with the community that surrounds Howard University, and underlining a resurfacing of the connection with our own faculty, staff, and students of the University.

All my best,
Adia Burriss Coleman, Patent Technician
Reference Department
Founders Library
Howard University
Washington, DC