AUBURN — More than 30 entrepreneurs eager for economic growth essential to the local economy mingled, marketed ideas and met one on one with local small-business experts Tuesday at the Auburn Public Library.

“One of the biggest problems that public libraries have is helping people understand everything that we offer,” Library Director Lynn Lockwood said.

Research and resources are among the library’s most important assets when it comes to helping people interested in starting small businesses, Lockwood said. In an effort to expand its reach into the small business community, the library hosted its first “Entrepreneurs’ Extravaganza” Tuesday evening.

The event was designed to inform and inspire local entrepreneurs and small-business owners. Organizers introduced people to the library as a critical resource to find help with everything from how to write a business plan to researching the best loans.

Lockwood said part of the reasoning behind the event was that the library recognizes small-business owners as important economic drivers of the future.

“I was pleased to see so many people looking for specific information and trying to get an idea of what’s out there,” said Betty Gensel, a business counselor for the Maine Women’s Business Center with Coastal Enterprises.

The event introduced participants to free resources available to entrepreneurs and small-business owners, and included workshops on how to finance and market their ideas and businesses.

Connie Boisvert, an entrepreneur in the process of developing her own small-business plan, attended Tuesday’s event with the intent of furthering her vision to manufacture, market and sell a line of tops specially designed for nursing mothers.

“I would like to be ‘made in Maine,'” Boisvert said. “I’m here tonight to learn more and pick up more — especially about marketing.”