A startup company offering air-conditioned, internet-connected doghouses for use by businesses where dogs are not allowed attracted "seed money" from the Brooklyn Public Library, a New York Times news article reports.
The article is about the doghouses and does not explore how the public library got into the business of providing seed money to startup companies. If it's true, though, it made me wonder why that's an appropriate role for the library. The Brooklyn Public Library became one of my favorite New York institutions because of its role in making books available to the public. Maybe it would also be good at startup investing, but maybe not, too. One wonders whether the library takes equity in exchange for this "seed money," and what expertise and track record the people allocating capital have. It looks like there may be some answers at the library website.