Page 19 - Baltimore County 2023 Quality of Life Guide & Business Directory

Ruxton, Brooklandville and Stevenson are closer to Towson than they are to Baltimore County’s northern communities, but they share some of the same rural flavor, spread as they are across the Greenspring Valley. Stevenson University’s original campus, numerous private schools and several farms populate the landscape here. GreenSpring Station is a popular shopping destination, with locally owned boutiques and restaurants.
In the far west of Baltimore County,
you’ll find Arbutus, Halethorpe and Catonsville. Catonsville is also known as Music City Maryland, in honor of the many music shops that populate its downtown business district along Frederick Avenue. The western communities are a terrific home for commuters, due to their proximity to I-95, I-695 and the BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport.
On the opposite site of the county,
you’ll find White Marsh, Perry Hall
and Parkville. These areas have seen tremendous residential and commercial development in recent years, and they boast several amenities that attract visitors from around the greater Baltimore region: the IKEA store in White Marsh,
the walkable THE AVENUE at White Marsh shopping center and the Angel Park playground in Perry Hall, which is fun and accessible for all children, including those who use wheelchairs.
Rounding out the county’s communities are the eastern enclaves of Dundalk, Essex and Middle River. While parts of these communities adjoin the Port of Baltimore and other industrial areas, this is also where Baltimore County meets the water. You’ll find pristine natural beauty and stunning Chesapeake Bay views at North Point State Park.
‘WE’RE HERE TO
SERVE OUR WHOLE COMMUNITY’
SONIA ALCÁNTARA-ANTOINE,
CEO, Baltimore County Public Library (BCPL)
As CEO of Baltimore County’s public library system, Sonia Alcántara-Antoine oversees a crucial resource for the local community. It’s a responsibility she doesn’t take lightly. Under Alcántara-Antoine’s leadership, the library has significantly expanded its
services and embarked on major renovations to several locations.
You have quite a few services that benefit business owners
and aspiring entrepreneurs. Can you talk about some of what’s
available to that population?
We have a lot of services for job seekers and job creators alike. Specifically for our entrepreneurs, we have a very successful program that’s called the Entrepreneur Academy, which we launched right before the pandemic. Basically, we put you in a cohort and teach you all the skills you need to be a successful entrepreneur — the things you never knew about. You might have this great idea for a business, but you don’t know anything about putting together a marketing plan, or the forms or certifications that you need to file with the local government. That program has been very successful — so much so that we have launched an identical version in Spanish in service to Spanish speakers who also want to be entrepreneurs. And we’ve also launched a version for teens because we see that entrepreneurial spirit exists among teens.
You’ve been selected as President of the Public Library
Association for 2023-24. What do you hope to accomplish in that
position, and how will your term as PLA President benefit BCPL?
It’s a fantastic honor. There are over 17,000 public libraries nationwide, so I’m the person who’s advocating for public libraries everywhere. It’s a tremendous opportunity and it’s a challenging time for libraries right now because we’re seeing a sharp uptick in attempts to ban books and to censor books.
In terms of how that relates to my role here as CEO of BCPL, I’m just bringing greater awareness about what’s happening in libraries and what trends are going on. It's one thing for me to say we need to be doing x, y, and z, but it’s another thing when I can say as PLA President, other states are doing this and I’m seeing this trend nationwide. And it’s helpful for elected leaders to know that what we’re asking for when we want to go in different directions, we’re not making this stuff up.
What else are you excited about at BCPL right now?
I’m really excited about our social worker program. Sometimes, when people come to the library, they’re in crisis. We just hired our fourth social worker, and all BCPL branches now have coverage. If you’re facing food insecurity, housing insecurity, struggling with mental health or substance abuse or domestic violence, you have someone who is an expert and can work with you on finding solutions. I’m really proud of that. We’re here to serve our whole community, and that includes taking care of the most vulnerable among us so that everybody in the community can thrive.
Also, during the pandemic, we started circulating Wi-fi hotspots and our hotspots were checked out for three weeks at a time. Now we’ve launched a long-term lending program where you can get a high-speed router that connects up to 30 devices in your home for six months. We’re also working with the county and state to distribute Chromebooks. So we’re really trying to close that digital divide. I’m extremely proud of the work we’re doing in that regard because people need the internet to work, to learn. It’s not an option, it’s not a luxury — it’s really a necessity in life.
www.baltcountychamber.com 17