Business is booming at the new Downtown business branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

	Lake Fong, Post-Gazette The Downtown and Business branch of the Carnegie Library has re-opened at its new location on Smithfield Street. Click photo for larger image.

Since its Feb. 1 grand opening at 612 Smithfield St., next to Brooks Brothers, the library has attracted an average of 1,200 visitors a day and "books are flying out the door," said business department head Roye Werner.

At its old digs -- the former Bank Center on Wood Street -- the branch averaged 1,000 patrons a day. That figure included students and staff from both Point Park University and the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, which shared the facility with the library.

The move to Smithfield Street gives the Downtown and Business branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, as it is officially named, a highly visible place all its own. From 1985 to 1997, the branch was literally underground, nestled next to the subway station in the sub-basement of One Mellon Center. Then it moved to the Wood Street location, where it was largely hidden behind an antique facade.

Now it clearly can be seen from the street, with the word "Library" emblazoned in giant letters stretching across a series of picture windows.

Although longtime patrons may miss the open space of the Wood Street location, the branch provides substantially the same services as before, Werner said.

For those who want to start a business, there are titles on such matters as writing business plans and obtaining financing. The library also has a representative from the Service Corps of Retired Executives, or SCORE, on site each Thursday to assist budding entrepreneurs.

For job searchers, the branch offers volumes on skills evaluation and networking, as well as assistance in writing resumes.

The branch's wealth of investment information includes databases from Dun & Bradstreet and Morningstar, volumes of historical stock prices and, for those who hope that stock certificates found in an attic signal instant wealth, "The Fisher Manual of Valuable and Worthless Securities" -- "There's almost never a happy ending," Werner said.

The branch also has an extensive index of articles about Pittsburgh-based companies, and the Foundation Center still offers help for nonprofit organizations or individuals seeking grants.

Many of the resources offered at the branch are now available online at www.carnegielibrary.org/locations/downtown.

Because of the renovation, the branch missed the opportunity to sign up a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance volunteer to help patrons with preparing their tax returns this year. But it still has "every tax form anybody could want," Werner said.

The branch also has an auditorium/meeting room that can accommodate 50 people. It is available for rental when the library is not using it for one of its scheduled programs.

The branch sits across the street from Barnes & Noble. Rather than viewing each other as competition, the library and the bookstore are exploring the possibility of shared programming, Werner said.

And the positioning works well for the employees of both. "We take our lunch hour over there, and they take their lunch hour over here," she said with a chuckle.